Cape Coral will be rebuilt after Hurricane Ian without soul searching
Michael Grunwald · The ‘ecological ponzi scheme’ putting Florida at risk · Oct 24, 2022 · at 8:09
Journalist Mike Grunwald discusses the aftermath of Hurricane Ian and whether vulnerable Florida communities will reconsider rebuilding in flood-prone areas.
0:00 / 0:11exact quote · 11.4s
720p mp4 · rendered on demand · StarZero watermark
“You know, I don't think there will be a lot of soul searching about, you know, do we belong here? Does a place like Cape Coral, you know, should it be rebuilt? It's going to be rebuilt.”
quote is from the automated transcript, cleaned for reading: filler sounds and stutters are removed, nothing is rephrased. names can be misheard (the analysis reads context, assessments check outside sources). how →
More from Michael Grunwald
Cape Coral's low elevation makes it unsuitable for 200,000 residents
“And so the place was always, you know, not only in harm's way, but with these canals to carry the storm throughout the city when it does come incredibly low-lying, incredibly wet just not the kind of place where you should put 200,000 humans.”
Florida's coastal development model operates as an ecological Ponzi scheme
“And so that's what I mean by this ecological Ponzi scheme, where eventually, kind of, the bill comes due, and Hurricane Ian is one of those moments where suddenly we've put twenty million people in harm's way, And the harm arrived.”
Cape Coral was developed with literally zero urban planning
“It's like a peninsula jutting off the peninsula, and Cape Coral literally had, like, no planning.”
Governor Rick Scott abolished Florida's growth management agency
“Rick Scott, when he was governor, one of the first things he did was get rid of Florida's growth management agency, and since then, it's been all growth and no management.”