Forum Topic

Benjamin Dennehy views on flooding

I have just been reading what the Cllr said about the flooding victims.Fair point. It is so refreshing when Cllrs can speak their mind rather than confirm to the media or say just what you think is acceptable.I rather enjoy reading about Cllr Dennehy. He is like a breath of fresh air which hopefully other councillors could take a leaf from.

Rhys Smith ● 4369d12 Comments

Something I read recently was quoting a life of several decades yet for the Thames Flood barrier.

Tony Colliver ● 4365d

Alex,well done for being independent. we need independent thinkers. I believe we have to take Climate Change seriously but also the unfortunate thing is that whilst certain things are obvious about pollution that some of the scientists with their models have been less than scientific. This can be used by the opposition to attempt to discredit the evidence. Some Physicists have examined the models and found them to be very flimsy. I would say that we need to understand the natural trends in weather also because whilst we could cut carbon emissions we may be missing other dangers. I also think that carbon trading is a nonsense in that it allows people to pollute. Having lived in Middlesbrough for 4 years in the 70's I have always found London to be quite a fresh air place. Yes the barrier and other defences are so important. but having lived in Holland I see how they manage things. I regularly stay in a Hotel below sea level when working there and I cant imagine the Dutch government allowing what has happened in the Somerset levels to happen. But then neither you or I are experts on Hydrology but obviously we care about the environment and are interested in independent thinking so good luck.

Peter Chadburn ● 4365d

Peter,Indeed, why was money poured into a bird sanctuary when river dredging should have been a priority? Whether we like it or not we have to take climate change seriously - and I do not believe the evidence has been doctored at all, if you examine the strength of the correlation between increasing atmospheric CO2, industrial output and rising temperatures. Otherwise we are unprepared and leave ourselves exposed and vulnerable. Why is it so difficult for humans to acknowledge their responsibility for the planet which they live in? In London should be worried about the remaining lifespan of the Thames Barrier. I agree that part of the holistic global solution is to stop deforestation and in fact reforest as much as we can. I also do not like any of the current main parties (some less than others) - which is why I am standing as an independent councillor in LB Ealing in May.

Alex Nieora ● 4365d

Alex,I like the criticism of the environment agency and that was part of my point being that they have been dishonest with the local people. This is part of what is fundamentally wrong with this country. climate change is an interesting one as the scientific evidence has been doctored to make it appear that it is beyond doubt. However we have always had a shifting climate and whilst for me it makes no sense to waste resources probably one of the biggest dangers is the effects of massive deforestation as that is a natural part of the ecosystem. I feel that the global warming argument has been far too narrow and that we need a more holistic climate model that takes in all the factors and also looks at the long term evidence going back in time. Is this a part of the natural cycle going back thousands of years. But the local people have been badly betrayed and this needs highlighting. so well done on the support and recognition of that. As for UKIP I find them light relief from the 3 current main parties. I would vote SNP if they had a local candidate

Peter Chadburn ● 4365d

Not only were your comments insulting you were also not right in the slightest - in your warped view, everyone is responsible for everything that affects them, which includes everything they could never have foreseen - including having your flooded and looted even when its never been flooded before. Yours is a fundamentally selfish and counterproductive view which does nothing to achieve anything except satiate your need for attention and to feel victimised. The practical reality is river beds need to be dredged, the floodplains need better managed and more broadly lessons need to be learnt by the Environment Agency and government departments. Not by local people who have been doing everything they can to defend their homes and come together to support their neighbours and communities. Meanwhile you and your fellow idiots at UKIP deny climate change is taking place when the scientific evidence and correlations are beyond any doubt. But just because you keep burying your heads in the sand doesn't mean other people should do.

Alex Nieora ● 4366d

Peter Chadburn writes:"are you some kind of idiot that believes we are all morons"?  Classic.More of the same please Peter.  I'm as puzzled as you as to how Thomas misinterpreted your first post.

Phil Kay ● 4366d

Thomas,I was passed these articles and if you had taken time to read them despite the obvious bias of some correspondents we can see that the environment agency has decided to let the area flood without informing the people who live there. So what are your qualifications?????? I may not know hydrology but I know official lies when I see them. So it is more complicated and you obviously do not want to explain why. are you some kind of idiot that believes we are all morons. I know the agenda of some of these people however what they show are official lies. so let us have your evidence

Peter Chadburn ● 4367d

This alleged "storm" on twitter involved 5 people (Suzanne included). The same 5 I constantly have exchanges with. All good fun in my opinion. This tweet made its way into the Gazette because Suzanne Fernandes is a passionate opponent of mine. She had wanted to be a UKIP candidate at one point. It seems to me that she spends half her time contacting the Gazette, the other moaning to Council I have breached Council Standards. I'm actually flattered by all her attention. She's like a personal PR agent.

Benjamin Dennehy ● 4367d

What are your hydrology qualifications, Peter?[in other words: stop believing crap from people with an agenda, it's more complicated than the morons you've been reading think it is]

Thomas Barry ● 4369d

Yes, typically insulting. However for the Somerset Levels a more sinister point has been shown that not everyone has seen. It has been a deliberate policy of the Environment Agency to allow the situation to develop. Very well one of the commentators has an anti-eu bias. but reading between the lines we see that our agency people have had a deliberate policy. Holland would not give up half their country to this so called eu policy. but somehow our people do whilst lying to the locals. the difference between the Somerset Levels/Moors and the Thames is that the Environment Agency always intended the Levels to flood when this kind of rainfall happened, in accordance with EU environmental policy. If you've got time for a read, these are interesting.http://www.bishop-hill.net/blog/2014/2/10/alas-smith.htmlhttp://tinyurl.com/q852rzm (Christopher Booker in the Telegraph) And to stay flooded. 'Famously Baroness Young [Lord Smith's predecessor at the EA] once said that she would 'like to attach limpet mines to every pumping station in Somerset'. Combine that with a twenty-year 'no dredge policy' backed to the hilt by the RSPB and Natural England and you have a recipe for a real disaster. Even the Environment Agency admits that these rivers are now working at 60% of their capacity.' http://tinyurl.com/lzd3klc (Western Morning News)

Peter Chadburn ● 4369d

Just google 'Benjamin Dennehy views on flooding', Gerry.

Susan Kelly ● 4369d

What does the good Councillor say about the flood victims please?

Gerry Tan ● 4369d