Climate change would swamp Trump’s border wall

Climate change would swamp Trump’s border wall
Apparently Trump's wall has another enemy. Climate change. Since our southern border runs along the Rio Grande river for quite some time, changes in climate are causing the river to flood worse and worse. Sometimes even so badly that you can see the floods from space. Now I know that Trump doesn't want to believe in Climate Change, but whether he believes in it or not, these floods will continue to happen. And that will make the construction of the wall more perilous.

The problem is that the vast majority of that border runs straight down the middle of 1,254 snaking miles of the Rio Grande River — and ever-worsening, climate change-fueled floods greatly complicate any plausible design.

And that’s on top of siting problems so significant Trump’s Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke actually seemed to suggest the wall would be built on Mexico’s side of the river when he told ranchers last week, “We’re not going to put it on our side and cede the river to Mexico.”

Extreme weather and climate change make both the siting and design challenges unimaginably greater.

One of the basic predictions of climate science, confirmed by observations, is that the hotter it gets, the more water evaporates into the air, resulting in much more water available for deluges. Worse, in many places, the climate actually changes — blocking patterns are created that cause storm fronts to stall — which can lead to truly epic deluges.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that in some areas, the May 2015 deluge was “greater than a 1-in-1000 year event.” Extreme events are becoming much more common. As Craig Fugate, head of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under President Obama, said after the epic year of extreme weather in 2010, “The term ‘100-year event’ really lost its meaning this year.”

Oh yeah. And there is also a treaty we have with Mexico dating back to the 70's that prohibits either country from building on the flood plain.

Complicating the siting issue even further is the fact that, as the AP has noted, “treaties with Mexico prevent either country from constructing within the river’s flood plain.”

Indeed, the 1970 “Treaty to Resolve Pending Boundary Differences and Maintain the Rio Grande and Colorado River as the International Boundary” states that the joint U.S.-Mexico International Boundary and Water Commission “must approve construction of works proposed in either country” along those rivers. It explicitly prohibits the construction of projects “which, in the judgment of the commission, may cause deflection or obstruction of the normal flow of the river or of its flood flows.”

Ignoring that restriction would require Trump to blow up nearly 170 years of treaties with Mexico.

No it wouldn't. There is no increase in sea level. CO2 does not increase temperature. CO2 increased from 280 ppm to 407 ppm with no effect. CO2 isn't some wonder gas.

As stupid as Trump is he will say to hell with it and build the wall. At least the illegals will have a nice dock to play on.

a reply to: buster2010


Do you really believe Trump is stupid?

a reply to: Krazysh0t


ThingProgress????? are you kidding me?


I guess George Soros is about the ONLY rich white male the Progressive left still bears his water?


Fake news!!! Sorry, but if Alex Jones is fake news, then so is Thinkprogress.....

originally posted by: allsee4eye
No it wouldn't. There is no increase in sea level. CO2 does not increase temperature. CO2 increased from 280 ppm to 407 ppm with no effect. CO2 isn't some wonder gas.

So you are saying that the Rio hasn't been flooding and that flood from 2008 that you could see from space never happened?

a reply to: seeker1963

Same question. So those floods in the Rio aren't happening? How about trying a bit harder before you declare something fake?

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: seeker1963

Same question. So those floods in the Rio aren't happening? How about trying a bit harder before you declare something fake?

Floods have happened thru out time!

It's a damn shame when people link mother nature to politics!

Meh. What's more interesting to me is John Kelly's comments about what "wall" actually means.

Kelly told Congress that "wall" means everything from a wall to fencing to drones to men and women and that the wall will be built "where it's needed" rather than "from sea to shining sea." But Trump's EO says that "wall" is supposed to mean a continuous and impenetrable barrier. Kelly wants to put a wall up "where it makes sense" rather than just one big assed wall.

Curious.

originally posted by: seeker1963

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: seeker1963

Same question. So those floods in the Rio aren't happening? How about trying a bit harder before you declare something fake?

Floods have happened thru out time!

Yes, but the point is that the Rio is flooding worse than before. This is being said is due to climate change, but if you don't want to believe in CC then you still have to account for the fact that these floods are getting worse.

It's a damn shame when people link mother nature to politics!

Climate change isn't politics. It is science.

Good, it'll make it harder to cross.

Throw in some sharks or gators with fricken laser beams strapped to their fricken heads and we're in business!

a reply to: watchitburn

Floods don't exist year round you know? All this will do is destabilize the ground the wall is built on as the flood waters slowly erode the land underneath it. Meanwhile, any border crossers can just wait until the flood recedes.

I think the question or issue is that recently, the RIO Grande is flooding more often and flooding higher.

Linking that to Climate Change makes sense. We know the climate is changing and that the earth is getting a little warmer.

Building something as big as a border wall next to the RIO Grande should take that potential issue into account.

Funny how most on the left actually believe engineers won't take things like a river flooding or shifting into account. Like the actual people tasked with this haven't learned anything from their forefathers that built things like the hover dam! I can see the narrative trying to be filled here. That Trump is a climate change denier and his wall will prove just how...

stupid as Trump is

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
Climate change isn't politics. It is science.

Then tell the left to stop tying them together via green taxes!

a reply to: Krazysh0t

I really hope you don't believe this bull crap.

a reply to: JAY1980

Fun fact: A dam isn't the same thing as a wall and require VASTLY different engineering feats to construct.

So how can I take an article seriously when the last sentence says "Ignoring that restriction would require Trump to blow up nearly 170 years of treaties with Mexico." even though the article references a 1970 treaty. What is the 170 year old treaty that's about be blown up?

This isn't factual news, it's an opinion piece by the founding editor of Climate Progress. That's hardly scientific.

originally posted by: Metallicus
a reply to: Krazysh0t

I really hope you don't believe this bull crap.

Sure I believe it. It makes sense given how Climate Change works, and nothing you have said here has changed my mind.

originally posted by: LogicalGraphitti
So how can I take an article seriously when the last sentence says "Ignoring that restriction would require Trump to blow up nearly 170 years of treaties with Mexico." even though the article references a 1970 treaty. What is the 170 year old treaty that's about be blown up?

This isn't factual news, it's an opinion piece by the founding editor of Climate Progress. That's hardly scientific.

I think the point of that is to say that we have treaties dating back 170 years and disregarding one will jeopardize all of them.

originally posted by: JAY1980
Funny how most on the left actually believe engineers won't take things like a river flooding or shifting into account. Like the actual people tasked with this haven't learned anything from their forefathers that built things like the hover dam! I can see the narrative trying to be filled here. That Trump is a climate change denier and his wall will prove just how...

stupid as Trump is

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
Climate change isn't politics. It is science.

Then tell the left to stop tying them together via green taxes!

I wonder if people trying to cross the border will look to those who build things like Hoverounds for inspiration...