They want money to build sea defenses to protect their cliffside homes from landslides, which is so far reserved for more high-value areas. I’m sympathetic, but this
“But there’s no way anybody could have anticipated these losses 15, even 10 years ago.”
is something we’re never going to stop hearing, because we’ve already been hearing it for 10-15 years.
Consider this messy alternative that started in 2005.
People will always choose to defend, and continue to build and improve and invest right up to the end, making the eventual damage more costly and chaotic. Something that happens once here and there, maybe we can get away with that, but if the whole coast is going to sink at once, we have to be more responsible or we simply won’t be able to afford the consequences.
They want money to build sea defenses to protect their cliffside homes from landslides, which is so far reserved for more high-value areas. I’m sympathetic, but this
People will always choose to defend, and continue to build and improve and invest right up to the end, making the eventual damage more costly and chaotic. Something that happens once here and there, maybe we can get away with that, but if the whole coast is going to sink at once, we have to be more responsible or we simply won’t be able to afford the consequences.