Daily archives: June 4, 2015

The Texas Floods Are So Big They Ended the State’s Drought

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“Rain just doesn’t fall in a civilized fashion in Texas,” says Ronald Kaiser, a water expert at Texas A&M.

The extremes of Texas’ water problems could be a model for growing areas of the world as climate change gets worse. Extreme dry spells followed by devastating floods- which nonetheless top up the water supply.

One question, and I’m sure it’s a dumb one, but I’ll pose it anyway. If they’ve been pumping water out of the aquifers for years, surely they have the beginnings of an infrastructure to pump it back in when there’s an excess above ground. It wouldn’t be any good flood control, but it might help clear the standing water afterwards, as well as topping up the stores.

Source: The Texas Floods Are So Big They Ended the State’s Drought | WIRED

Homeless People Face £1,000 Fines For Sleeping Rough

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Homeless people face fines of up to £1,000 for sleeping rough in public doorways, under a new asbo-style rule introduced by a London Council.Homelessness charities have reacted angrily to Hackney Council’s ‘Public Space Protection Order’, which they say “criminalises homelessness”.The new order bans homeless people from sleeping in public areas and doorways and can be legally enforced through a £100 on the spot fine.This fine could quickly escalate to as much as £1,000, due to additional court costs. It remains unclear on how the Council will expect destitute homeless people to pay up.

This is another one of those ideas so stupid you keep checking to see if it’s a joke. There is wording about putting homeless people in touch with organisations that may be able to help them, but that doesn’t negate the nonsensical basic idea.

There have been some schemes trialled in other countries, where homeless people were given places to live, at the expense of the local authorities, and this ended up costing less in policing, health and other expenditure. It’s also vastly more humane than piling extra punishment onto people who are already at what they thought was the lowest point possible.

Source: Homeless People Face £1,000 Fines For Sleeping Rough | Welfare Weekly

‘Change the law so car-drivers are automatically blamed for cycling accidents – unless they can prove otherwise’ | Metro News

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Dutch driving laws force motorists to play it safe. Isn’t it time we adopted strict liability to protect cyclists in Britain?

There’s a vote option at the bottom of the piece. The result won’t make a difference in the grand scheme, but I recommend clicking Yes for the benefit of Metro readers.

Source: ‘Change the law so car-drivers are automatically blamed for cycling accidents – unless they can prove otherwise’ | Metro News