Weather panic attacks

[laira314]

There's some fairly heavy snowfall and Illinois is freaking out. Apparently, society ceases to function when it snows more than an inch at a time, and it's best to barricade yourself in a nuclear bunker with a year's worth of canned food.

It snows every year here. Every year.Since this is so traumatic (every year), here's what will make society

Comments

[shirou]

Ahahahaha. In Alabama, there is a serious draught every summer. Birmingham has to buy water from Atlanta, laws are passed to prevent people from watering their lawns, etc. Every year, because of the draught, many crops die. And every year, the farmers are caught completely off guard. I swear, it's always in the newspaper: Sudden Draught Ruins Crops; Farmers Devastated. Now, I know that many of these farmers have a hard time, and I know that maintaining good irrigation during a draught is difficult -- the best canals are useless when dry -- but come on. It happens every year. Even if they can't do much to prepare for it, they should at least be expecting it.

Oh well, people are stupid. Enjoy your day off.

[anonymous]

I understand freaking out due to rain even less. I just... don't get it. What's mean to be so dangerous, exactly? I mean, yeah, hydroplaning is a possibility, but merely a *possibility*... and requires multiple conditions to happen. I could also get hit by a truck today, but that doesn't paralyze me with fear either.

Snow ploughs and road maintenance - I don't know much about St. Louis's economy, but in a country so dependent on cars, you'd think road maintenance and traffic safety would be paramount concerns, big enough to spend a good chunk of cash on. Maybe that's just me, or maybe they need more income or to spend less. Something. Snow ploughs and sand trucks shouldn't be a stretch for a city the size of St. Louis. If it is... there's some serious mismanagement.

[laira314]

...yeah... makes me wonder how that happens. I've seen small towns, notably the one we lived in in Sweden and to some extent Hefei, have governments that do a lot of stupid things, but St. Louis is big enough to avoid many of the causes for it I've seen. For example, in the town we lived in in Sweden, Ludvika, the dynamics are shaped mainly by three things: inevitable social democratic rule, meaning that there is no real opposition to shake things up; small-town politicians wanting to pretend they're playing with the big boys; and the logical tendency of anyone with real political ambitions (or any other kind of ambitions) to leave, because the town is too small to provide opportunities. This leads to some stupid investments and plans, like building a traffic circle (roundabout? I forget which one's British English and which one's American English) in the middle of a forest in supposed anticipation of a boom of hip IT companies relocating there which never happens. The people with ego problems remain and aren't challenged, because

[daver40]

Yeah, it really suprises me that Champaign/Urbana is handling it so poorly. It doesn't seem like we've gotten all that much snow.

[laira314]

Thank you! Good to know I'm not the only one who thinks that :P