Hurricane Harvey flooding and damage. Image by Jill Carlson (jillcarlson.org) from Roman Forest, Texas, USA [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.
BY BRADFORD MCKEE
FROM THE OCTOBER 2017 ISSUE OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE.
Michael D. Talbott wasn?t shy in showing his hand about climate change. For 18 years, Talbott, an engineer, served as the head of the Harris County Flood Control District in Texas until his retirement in 2016. He flatly dismissed any links between climate change and the frequent extreme storms?four of them now since 2015?to hit Harris County, the nation?s third most populated county, and its seat, Houston, the nation?s fourth-largest city. The month he retired, Talbott told a team of reporters with ProPublica and the Texas Tribune that the flood control district did not plan to look at ways climate may be driving the extreme weather that affected Harris County. ?I don?t think it?s the new normal,? he said of these weather extremes. (The person to follow him in the job of executive director, Russell A. Poppe, ?shares his views,? according to the report.) People who are saying it?s the new normal, Talbott said, have ?an agenda? to fight development. Just as remarkable as Talbott?s denial of climate breakdown was his acquittal of the role that urban development patterns play in worsening or relieving floods. When Hurricane Harvey sat on the region for days in late August, many indignant arguments arose online that Houston?s development habits either most ...