California’s Flood Fiasco: Stop Blaming Climate Change—Fix the Levees

Every time California floods, the politicians and media rush to point the finger at climate change. The planet is warming, emissions are rising, storms are worse—they say. But here’s the inconvenient truth: the state is flooding because it refuses to fix the levees that actually keep water out. It’s not rocket science—it’s common sense.

Levees in Crisis, Budgets Ignored

California’s levee system is a patchwork of aging structures, many built nearly a century ago. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports that over 50% of California’s levees are “high risk” or “unsatisfactory” (USACE, 2022). Yet, levee maintenance gets barely $200 million a year from state and federal sources combined (California DWR, 2023).

Meanwhile, climate programs—renewable energy projects, emissions reduction schemes, and endless research initiatives—received $15 billion in 2023 alone (California DOF, 2023). That’s 75 times more money than what’s spent on levees. Seventy-five times. And we wonder why rivers overflow.

Excuses, Not Solutions

Floods are predictable. Levees are engineering solutions. Yet, instead of fixing the problem, California points at climate change as the scapegoat. This is bureaucratic theater at its finest: blame the planet, not your budget choices. Residents lose homes, farmers lose crops, and politicians pat themselves on the back for “fighting climate change.” Meanwhile, the actual solution sits unfunded and ignored.

The Simple Fix

It doesn’t take decades of research or trillions in grants to prevent flooding. It takes money, oversight, and maintenance. According to the National Institute of Building Sciences, every $1 spent on preventive infrastructure saves $6 in disaster response (NIBS, 2020). Shoring up levees is a guaranteed way to prevent disasters—unlike abstract climate programs that may or may not pay off in the distant future.

Stop the Nonsense

California could fix this tomorrow. Fund levees properly, repair the decaying structures, and enforce maintenance. Flooding wouldn’t disappear entirely—but it would be manageable and preventable, instead of a yearly catastrophe blamed on climate change.

The truth is simple: stop using climate change as an excuse for incompetence. Fix what’s broken. Protect what’s in danger. Stop pretending that billions spent elsewhere substitute for the basic responsibility of keeping citizens safe.