Doomsday

 Turning our eyes from the drama of the Chinese balloon, we turn to more mundane matter.  Flooding.  Anyone who has lived through a flood knows how devastating it can be, but it seems that some are worried that Miami might flood.

The Miami-Dade County government has some clever mapping tools to help people visualize the impending climate risks—rising seas, swelling groundwater, flooded buildings. But too much detail can distract from the bigger picture: Miami is drowning.

There is that problem, but people are not nailed to the ground.  They can move, and many folks like living in Miami.  We face the same problems here in Louisiana.  New Orleans, for example, is below sea lavel.  Much of the time it is below the level of the Mississippi river.  They choose to live there, much like the folks choose to live in Miami.

For years I lived in a flood zone.  I chose to live there.  I loved it there.  The middling threat of flooding was outweighed by the other attributes of the land.  Eventually, my life changed, and I moved from there. Nowadays, I live atop a tall ridge.  If this place floods, there will be a lot of people around treading water.  That would be a disaster.

People, generally, will do the right thing, based on their own unique circumstances.  Some folks like living in a swamp.  Others don't.