The Calgary 2013 Flood was 11 Years Late

I get riled when eco-activists like David Suzuki use climate change and the 2013 Calgary flood  in the same sentence. Haven’t we been taught that history repeats itself?  Do eco-activists think that no one checks back on history?  Just go back to the Calgary flood of 1935 to understand what happened in 2013.  Surprisingly or not, this year’s flood covered the same areas as in 1935.   If you build a city around water, you better have things figured out.  After the flood of 1935, a map was drawn up, along with many recommendations, one of which was to advise people buying in the area that they were moving onto a flood plain. Unfortunately, these recommendations were abandoned largely due to lobbying efforts by the land owners. Back then there were NO eco-activists blaming climate change as it was considered a natural occurrence which happened every seventy years or so.

Interestingly, Toronto created the Toronto Conservation Authority after the floods that accompanied Hurricane Hazel in 1954 which left four thousand people homeless.  The Conservation Authority took control of the flooded land and did not allow houses to be built where there was a chance of flooding.

Why was Calgary not prepared for the inevitable?

Why with all of our know-how did they not build spillways and dams to prevent the estimated 3 to 5 billion dollars in damage, much of which is not covered by insurance?  My sense of eco-activists is that they believe that natural disasters can be avoided by reducing carbon emissions. Snake oil anyone?  

In 2012, Alberta announced that $327 million would be spent on six projects to reduce carbon emissions.  Lots of tax dollars eh?  Canada represents a mere 6% of the world’s carbon emissions and the evil oil sands represent 2% of this 6%.

Should Albertans be proactive and spend money on projects that would protect them from future devastation or should they continue praying to the Gods of climate change, dressed as eco-activists?  Maybe it's just me.