Global Warming is finally here, and it wants to devour your cars and homes! Or something like that. Atlanta has had some real whackadoo weather over the last few days, from torrential rain that flooded houses and MARTA stations and intersections to our current springtime in December. Luckily, nothing too intense happened in Atlanta, but the current weather situation does beg the question: What the hell is going on, and what can anyone do about it?
Well, for starters, it was the hottest Christmas on record, getting all the way up to 75 degrees. And the following Saturday set another record, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That hot mess lead to torrential rain and the rest of the haphazard mess that was this holiday weekend.
According to Atlanta Fire Rescue Department spokesperson Cortez Stafford, there were a lot of calls to respond to after Atlantans had fun in new escape-your-own water features. Peachtree Creek overran its banks and residents near Woodward Drive had to be rescued by a water task force. Plus, there are a few notorious intersections in Atlanta that always flood in heavy rain. Cortez said, "There are always individuals who attempt to drive through those floodwaters which we always discourage, and people should know better, but people still take the chance to drive through." Five or six adventurers had to be tugged out of those flooded areas.
According to all of the big-wig science guys, this is probably going to be a continuing occurrence.
Plus, it will probably get worse, which means cool maps of Florida under water.
According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, it also means as seas rise, more areas will flood more frequently. Who knows — parts of the city could get those goofy stilt-houses.
It's a huge drain on infrastructure and resources and exacerbates current problems like water competition and congestion. That means less water for mussels and more rainy day traffic.
So start hoarding and buy a boat!
· Atlanta's Christmas leavings: mud, floods, fog [AJC]
· Preparing for Global Warming [NRDC]
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