"It means acquiring those lands that are necessary to protect our communities and perhaps saving on having to spend more and more money on taller and taller walls," said Andrew Fahlund, senior vice president of American Rivers, a conservation prada handbags 2011group.Fahlund said farmers could handle flooding better by switching to more water-tolerant crops such as trees and switchgrass and moving away from soybeans and corn, which are farmed heavily in the Mississippi River valley. "What you need are plants that don't mind getting their feet wet," Fahlund said.Larson also cited development, which increases the amount of water running into a river, and farming practices that aim to clear flooded fields quickly instead of letting excess water seep into the ground, which can harm crops."We need some retreat from our rivers, there's no question about that," Larson said.The federal government has taken some steps to ease flood damage by buying oft-flooded farmland and by moving houses and in some cases entire communities that are repeatedly flooded. Conservationists say that's effective and frugal.The narrowing of the Mississippi creates higher flood levels and faster flows of water as it gushes into farmland, communities and spillways designed to handle overflows, the federation said. Faster rushing floodwater causes more prada handbags 2011damage to land and to buildings.Larson said many factors have caused the extensive flooding this year, including rainstorms in the upper Midwest that are growing increasingly intense and have caused major floods in recent years in areas such as Iowa. "We thought those were extremely rare events, and we've seen three or four in 15 years," Larson said.
Commentaires