I know this is a Yahoo article, which would mean in the usual course that it was too public for me to blog.  Why blog something everyone’s already seen?  But this particular topic has been a pet peeve of mine for long enough that I find myself unable to resist the urge to pull it out, wave it around, and shout “See!  See!”

Terribly articulate of me.

The jist of the article is that, regardless of what possible effects climate change is having on tropical storms, the damage and loss experienced in the wake of these storms can be laid at the door of over-building in cities and crowding along the coasts.

Now, I’m not immune to the appeals of the ocean.  We have our week of bliss on Hilton Head Island, SC, bought and paid for.  ‘Course, we did pick a property with plenty of mature wetlands surrounding and laced throughout it, and a lower density of people than most, but that had more to do with personal preference than a desire to leave the coast undisturbed.

What I find astonishing is the number of people who behave as if there is no danger or risk in building along the coast, or that whatever risk involved should be picked up by insurance companies and the government, rather than those individuals who choose to brave the storms and plunk themselves down in its path.  When nature does as she will do, and smashes all the lovely little sorbet houses into so many piles of driftwood, everyone acts a little shocked and saddened, as if the unexpected has happened.

Uhm, no.  We’ve been getting hurricanes all along, folks.  This isn’t new.  And regardless of any climate changes one way or another, we’re not masters of the elements yet.  If we build it on the coast, the storms will come.