Huffington Post
It may be too late to prevent and prepare for Harvey, but we should smartly direct recovery efforts to help communities be much more resilient to future storms.
Jeremy Symons, Senior Advisor, EDF Action & Associate Vice President, Environmental Defense Fund
08/28/2017 03:43 pm ET Updated 1 hour ago
Rain continues to fall on Houston and surrounding areas at tragic levels. When the rains stop and the flood waters begin to recede — I hope that is very soon — the cost to rebuild will be massive. Pressure on Congress to act quickly will be intense. President Trump, however, has already put relief funds at risk.
Only 10 days prior to Hurricane Harvey’s landfall, Trump issued a reckless executive order that affects all federal agencies and contractors involved in Harvey’s relief effort. As part of his agenda of imposing climate denial throughout his administration, Trump rescinded a policy directing federal agencies to consider worsening future flood conditions when planning federally funded projects. The “Federal Flood Risk Management Standard” was aimed at improving America’s preparedness and resilience against flooding, and ensuring taxpayer funds are used wisely, by using the best information and building federally-funded infrastructure to withstand floods, as well as preserving natural floodplains that can minimize the threat to surrounding communities.
A One-Way Mirror of Climate Denial
Trump’s rescission of the flood risk standard is the bureaucratic equivalent of a deceptive one-way mirror. When trying to prevent and prepare for future floods, government agencies are encouraged to look backwards at the world decades ago — the picture is clear, but history is no longer an accurate guide of what to expect in the future when it comes to climate patterns, including rainfall and flooding. If they instead turn to look forward for a more complete picture based on the best science and the changes that are already observable in the real world, they see nothing but the same backwards reflection.
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