Political Quotes

“you cannot promote livable communities without examining the problems associated with our complex set of State, local and Federal policies for emergency relief. Many of these policies have encouraged people to live and invest in places where nature has repeatedly shown they are not welcome. The recent increase in the number of natural disasters and the associated losses has clearly demonstrated that our protective strategies are inherently flawed. We had better figure it out before we are overwhelmed by further impacts of global climate change. In the last decade alone, we have lost nearly $100 billion and almost 1,000 lives. Although we have invested tens of billions of dollars in dams and levees over the last 40 years, our losses now total almost six times the amount lost before we began. Natural forces continue to confound our best engineering efforts. The average coastline in the United States is due to erode approximately 500 feet over the next 60 years, and this figure does not take into account any rise in sea level or increased intensity of storms due to global warming. Walling off our coastlines is a contest we are going to lose. The National Flood Insurance Program is a good idea and an important program, but it is not sound because over 8,000 victims of repetitive flood loss are not required to either flood-proof their property or relocate out of harm's way.”