Quick, somebody build an ark

Does anyone even know what a cubit translates to in modern measurements?

It's raining as I type this, another line of storms running across the state and producing more heavy rain. I figure, if we could find a way to give even 50% of the precipitation that's fallen over Wisconsin in the last week to drought-ridden places like Georgia or California, everyone would be better off.

The news looks ever more glum: the historic Mid-Continent Railroad Museum in North Freedom is entirely flooded after the Baraboo River spilled over its banks (7 feet higher than the previous record). I'd like to reprint a call by Caffeinated Politics to urge everyone to do what they can to help the museum clean up the mess and get back on their feet after this disaster. He's included the mailing address where donations can be sent.

There are, unfortunately, many places and people who are and will be in need of financial and material assistance because of the flooding. We'll be hard-pressed to make sure everyone who needs help gets it, and for some people, even then it won't be enough to make up for what they've lost.

Early estimates put losses from damaged crops in the tens of millions. Farmers across the state are dealing with the second major flood in just 9 months. Tens of thousands of acres of crops lost to the flood waters, having to re-plant late in the season, and the already high cost of foodstuffs will only worsen the situation.

There's a noteworthy quote in the above linked WSJ article, from Richard de Wild of Harmony Valley Farm (a major supplier of organic goods for local restaurants and groceries): "To have another huge (rain) event nine months later makes me say, 'What is wrong with our weather?'"

Most experts point to the current three-year La Niña cycle - a cooling event in the Pacific Ocean that counters the warm water cycle of La Niño. An article printed in Time Magazine back in July 1998 lays out the predictions scientists were making about the switch from boy to girl that seem to have come true:

Trouble is, La Niña is likely to bring her own set of weather problems. Last week scientists meeting in Boulder, Colo., at a La Niña summit sponsored by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) sketched out a lengthy list: more Atlantic Ocean hurricanes. Colder winters across Canada. Wetter winters in the Pacific Northwest. Warmer, dryer winters in the Southern U.S. More wildfires in Florida. Lower wheat yields in Argentina. Torrential rains in Southeast Asia.

Happily, predictions have the La Niña period tapering off by the end of this year. Still, it's hard to shake off the sneaking suspicion that our weather patterns have been growing ever more erratic and severe overall. Several studies have recently been released tracking a correlation between increased global temperatures due to higher levels of greenhouse gases. This may be exacerbated by regular events like El Niño/a, so it may not be reasonable to pin the blame squarely on the shoulders of any one factor. Even so, I think a good argument could be made for working to lessen the severity of weather patterns by decreasing the levels of greenhouse gases released, and other disruptive habits.

In the meantime, we're left to clean up the mess. What's important is that we balance a concerted effort to change our overall habits and pass meaningful environmental legislation with an immediate and comprehensive disaster response. Making sure adequate state and federal funds are allocated, and that they actually get to the people and places most in need in a timely fashion. Keep an eye out, too, for donation and volunteer campaigns set up in the coming weeks, and please do what you can to help.

EDIT TO ADD: The Political Environment makes an excellent point about reassessing how we use land and how it relates to flooding.