Okay, so Asheville, you wanted to take a deep dive
into all that flooding, right?
Yeah, it's, well, it really makes you think twice
about those climate haven ideas, doesn't it?
Right, like Asheville's supposed to be this safe haven
tucked away in the mountains.
Or attracting all those folks fleeing the coasts.
Exactly, and then bam,
Haleen dumps meters of rain.
It's just, it's almost ironic.
Yeah, you got that right.
And these articles we've got, they don't hold back.
It's grim reading.
It's tough to even grasp the sheer scale, you know,
for sometimes even five months of rain.
In like, what, three days?
Less than that even.
Three days in some spots.
And we're talking about some areas
getting their typical four to five months worth.
Imagine that much water all at once
rushing through those valleys.
It's almost impossible to picture.
And then there's the human cost.
Just awful.
Over 40 deaths confirmed.
And that's just in Buncombe County.
And we both know that number's going up.
It's gonna keep climbing for sure.
Homes gone, businesses wiped out, livelihoods.
Just gone.
It's just heartbreaking.
It really drives home the point
that this climate change thing,
it's not just a coastal problem anymore.
Right.
Like even if you're miles inland,
there are still consequences.
Makes you wonder though,
Asheville's seen its share of bad floods, hasn't it?
Wasn't there that one back in 1916?
The Great Flood, yeah.
They talk about it in one of these articles.
Is this like history repeating itself then?
Or is there something more to it?
Well, there are definitely some parallels.
Back in 16, it was a string of hurricanes,
one after another that really drenched the mountains.
A whole series of hurricanes.
And it's like, yep.
Just kept coming one after the other.
And that's what led to the catastrophic flooding back then.
Wow.
I mean, that's something else.
You'd think an event like that
would be seared into the region's memory.
Oh, absolutely.
Some of the stories from back then,
they're hard to even read about.
Babies ripped right from their parents' arms
by the floodwaters.
Entire families wiped out by landslides.
It's hard to wrap your head around that kind of loss.
Unimaginable, really.
And it highlights how, despite all the solidness of mountains,
we're still pretty darn vulnerable to nature, you know?
For sure.
But we've always had these kinds of extreme weather events
had only.
So what makes Helene different?
Is it just a case of bad luck or?
That's the thing.
While those historical floods were awful,
what we're seeing now with Helene,
it's like those events but on steroids, you know what I mean?
And the difference maker.
Climate change.
So you're saying it's not just that these storms are happening.
It's that climate change is making them even worse.
Exactly.
It's like, think of those past storms as lighting a match.
Climate change is like dumping gasoline on it.
Wow.
OK.
So how's it doing that?
Is it making it rain harder or something?
Warmer air, my friend.
It holds more moisture way more than it used to.
Basic physics, really.
OK, go on.
I'm listening.
Think of a sponge, right?
It can only soak up so much before it starts dripping.
Warmer air, it's like a super soaked sponge.
And we're seeing that extra moisture come down
as these crazy downpours.
And the research backs that up, right?
So I was reading something about how climate change made
Helene's rain something crazy 20 times more likely.
Yeah, something like that.
It's still preliminary, but those are the kind of numbers
they're throwing around.
And that's not a small jump.
That's a complete game changer.
20 times.
Yeah.
Man, that's dead.
OK, yeah, you're right.
Point taken.
So warmer air, more moisture, massive downpours.
Yeah.
Got it.
But isn't there also something about how climate change is
messing with hurricanes themselves?
It's not just about the rain itself.
These hurricanes, they're changing too.
What do you mean?
It's like this, think of a hurricane,
like a giant engine, right?
Fueled by heat.
Warmer oceans, that's like higher octane fuel,
makes them more powerful.
OK, so stronger hurricanes.
Makes sense.
But here's the thing.
They're also slowing down.
Wait, really?
I figured a more powerful storm would move faster,
wouldn't it?
You'd think so right.
But it's more about how they interact with the atmosphere,
all that stuff.
These supercharged hurricanes, they get kind of stuck.
Stuck?
Yeah, in these slow moving weather patterns.
So instead of bullying through quickly,
they just hang out over land, dumping all that rain for days.
Oh, wow.
Like a, I don't even know.
It's the difference between getting
a splash with a bucket of water and someone
aiming a fire hose at you for hours, that kind of thing.
OK, yeah, that's a good way to put it.
So they're stronger and they're lingering longer.
No wonder there's so much damage.
Exactly.
And this is where it gets really interesting.
This whole thing, it's not just a coastal problem anymore.
Right, right.
That's what's so scary about it.
We used to think hurricanes hit the coast, and that's that.
But with this inland flooding, places people thought were safe.
Well?
No such thing is safe anymore.
Pretty much, Asheville is a perfect example.
And it's not alone.
One of these articles, it highlights
a bunch of other areas at high risk too.
The Pacific Northwest, for one.
Oh, really?
I wouldn't have thought of them.
Oh, yeah.
Parts of Pennsylvania, upstate New York too.
So even places used to dealing with snow, they're in trouble.
Climate change doesn't care about what we're used to,
unfortunately.
And then you've got places in the Midwest, Iowa, Wisconsin,
even.
The Midwest, seriously.
I always thought of them as safe from hurricanes, at least.
That's the thing.
We tend to think of climate change
in these neat little boxes, right?
Sea level rise over there, hurricanes over there.
Yeah, keep it all separate in our minds.
Exactly.
But that's not how it works.
It's all connected.
And these impacts, they're rippling out in ways
we're just starting to understand.
Right, right.
Like a chain reaction almost.
And it's not even just the hurricanes, is it?
All this talk about heavier rainfall,
that's happening even without a giant storm.
Absolutely.
And mountainous regions like Asheville,
they've got their own challenges.
All those hills and valleys, it's
like a funnel for the rain.
Right, the water's got to go somewhere.
Exactly.
It all flows down, picks up speed,
and suddenly you've got a flash flood.
Those streams and creeks, they turn into raging rivers
in no time.
It's like dumping a bucket of water
over a steep roof or something.
Yeah.
And think about it, the ground's often already
soaked from previous rainfall.
Like with Helene, right?
So you add more rain on top, it's a recipe for disaster.
Double whammy.
So even if it's not a huge downpour,
it's still a problem if the ground's already saturated.
Exactly.
And get this, the article, it mentioned the study.
They found that even a tiny increase in soil moisture,
like 1%, it can lead to a way bigger increase in how much
water ends up in rivers.
Wait, so if the soil's a little wetter,
the rivers get a lot higher.
That's what they're saying, like three times higher.
It's crazy.
Doesn't even work.
It's all about absorption or lack thereof.
Think of saturated soil like a full sponge.
It can't hold any more water.
So it's just runoff?
Exactly.
All that rain, instead of soaking in,
it just runs off into the streams and rivers,
overwhelms them, and boom, flood.
So it all just builds on itself.
Warmer, wetter, more flooding, and nowhere safe.
It's like, what's the point of even trying
to find a climate haven if it all goes out the window?
Yeah, that's the thing about climate havens, isn't it?
It's kind of an illusion.
You can try to escape one thing, sea level rise,
let's say.
Right, move inland up into the mountains like Asheville.
Exactly.
But the thing is, everywhere's got its own set of challenges.
It's not like you can just outrun climate change.
No, it's everywhere.
So what does that mean for people who are trying
to find a safe place to live, especially with everyone
and their brother leaving the coasts these days?
That's the big question, isn't it?
And you're right, there's this whole migration happening.
People leaving the coasts, looking for safer ground,
heading for places like Asheville.
Trying to get ahead of it.
Exactly.
But here's the thing, that influx of people,
it can actually put more stress on those areas.
Wait, really?
Yeah.
I think more people would be good, you know?
More resources, more support.
To a point, sure.
But it's not that simple.
More people means more development,
more strain on resources, all that.
And if those places aren't ready for a sudden population
boom, it can actually make them more vulnerable.
So it's like, the more crowded the lifeboat gets,
the more likely it is to sink.
Kind of, yeah.
And then there's the affordability issue.
The article mentioned how people
are being priced out of these supposedly safer areas.
Right, because everyone wants to live there now.
Exactly.
So even if people are aware of the climate risks,
they might not have a choice.
They need somewhere affordable to live.
It's a tough situation all around.
Though you'd hope that something like Hurricane Helene,
as bad as it was, might make people rethink their priorities.
You'd hope so, wouldn't you?
But people are funny like that.
There's this thing called optimism bias.
Optimism bias.
Yeah, it's like this weird quirk where we tend to think
we're less at risk than other people,
even when all the evidence says otherwise.
So even with these massive floods,
we still think, oh, it won't happen to me.
Pretty much.
And that disconnect between the reality of climate change
and how we perceive risk, it makes it
harder to get people to act.
That makes sense.
So where does that leave us?
What's the takeaway for all of us listening?
We just doomed to repeat this cycle of disaster and denial.
I don't think so.
I mean, yeah, it's easy to get overwhelmed.
But the most important thing is to not give in to that.
Don't get paralyzed by fear or apathy.
OK, so what?
Just keep on keeping on.
In a way, yes.
But it's more than that.
It's about recognizing that we do have a choice.
We can choose to be part of the problem,
or we can choose to be part of the solution.
And that starts with awareness, right?
Understanding what's at stake.
Exactly.
And then taking action.
Every little bit helps, whether it's
reducing our own carbon footprint,
supporting sustainable businesses,
or advocating for change at a larger level.
It all makes a difference.
I like that.
It's not about saving the planet for some abstract future
generation.
It's about making the world a better place right now
for everyone.
Absolutely.
And it's not just about individual actions either.
It's about coming together as a community, as a society,
to address this challenge head on.
Because we're all in this together.
You are.
So to everyone listening, the choice is yours.
What will you do?