The British Isles, our green and pleasant land, have spent the back end of 2013 and most of this year so far suffering from one of the worst onslaughts of storms and flooding that I have ever witnessed ...
How long before we get a Category 5 Hurricane crossing a warming Atlantic?
Storm after storm has been developing over the Atlantic Ocean and thanks to the position of the Jet Stream, gets funnelled straight on to Great Britain with the South West taking the brunt of the repeated wet and windy weather.
I've watched in awe as huge waves crash over headlands destroying everything in their wake. I have seen high tides overwhelm inadequate harbour defences and engulf entire coastal towns. And it brings tears to my eyes when I see my fellow countrymen lose everything and await insurance claims with their fingers crossed in the hope that firstly, the insurance companies will pay out, but more importantly, that it won't happen again anytime soon.
And yet the low-pressure systems keep rumbling across an ever-warming Atlantic. The rain keeps pouring, the winds keep blowing, the tides keep surging, the rivers keep overflowing and both town and countryside keep flooding!
I've lost count of the number of news reports showing herds of sheep on newly made islands, cattle confined to their sheds because the floods are lapping at the edge of their farm and entire villages so totally cut off from the outside world that only the military can access them. What sort of world is this becoming?
Thankfully, I live in a village on a hill and there are no streams or rivers near me. But when I drive from Hanslope to Milton Keynes, there are two flooded streams I need to carefully negotiate and an entire floodplain that has, in fact, now become a lake.
But my beautiful little cottage has still been taking a battering. High winds scurry across open fields and slam their cargo of rain into my windows. Fences are coming down, trees are straining against the onslaught and even my cats are having second thoughts about going outside.
I bet that the poor farmers, the business owners, the householders, the domesticated animals and the wildlife of Devon, Cornwall and Somerset feel something other than gratitude right now. And we're all wondering when the hell is it going to end?
With different government departments squabbling about who is responsible and who has to pay, ineffective ministers making stupid statements on TV about protecting either the towns or the countryside, don't you think it's time to realise that global warming is now having a tangible effect on Great Britain and resolve to do something about it?
A Government is duty bound to protect the lives - and the livelihoods - of its citizens, so my idea would be to declare the flooded areas a disaster zone, stop sending money abroad with immediate effect and begin to really help the British people instead!
The government should state openly that it doesn't matter how much it costs to protect our towns and countryside, then they should start fixing the flood defences, reinstate dredging programs, start pumping low lying land effectively and stop building homes on floodplains.
If we don't start now, imagine how much damage will be done next winter? And in ten years time? And in fifty years? How loud does Mother Nature need to shout before those in power pay proper attention to her?
Because in the end, if Mother Nature turns on us, she will win - guaranteed. If the Atlantic keeps on warming due to climate change that we as a species are causing, then how many years will it be before a really destructive, full on Category 5 Hurricane has Great Britain in its sights?
With at least another week of storms forecast, isn't it about time we started listening?
Foodie, sci-fi nut, cat lover, brain aneurysm & cancer survivor, countryside dweller, SaaS entrepreneur, developer and networker.
Published my first website in 1993 for the Open University and am highly experienced with Windows Servers, SQL Server, HTML, Classic ASP, JavaScript, and CSS.
I've also worked as a professional photographer in Los Angeles, USA and been a vision mixer and producer for live television in my time.
I live in a village north of Milton Keynes with my two cats, Baggins and Gimley, and a large planted aquarium full of unruly tropical fish.
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