BBC_Knowledge_2014-06_Asia_100p

Extreme weather brings out the
best of Britain, and the worst.
Along with cheery camaraderie
comes institutional amnesia.
Covering the winter floods one
rain-soaked afternoon, I was
delighted to be offered a lift in
an amphibious car, its owner
piloting what was essentially a
waterproofed Ford Fiesta along
a Surrey street that had become
a river.
Quirky but clever, this
contraption proved ideal for
filming, and everyone we passed
smiled at the eccentric spectacle
of a car that was also a boat –
apart from a Sky News crew

whose gaze was tinged with envy.

But along with the jollity has

been the evidence of forgotten

promises. One of many examples

is that the basic flood defence

mechanism is still a bag filled

with sand. On a Radio 5 Live

phone-in I was asked if sandbags

were actually any use – they can

be, but only in very localised

areas and not for long. In fact,

one key lesson from the terrible

floods of 2007 was that the rather

medieval technique of filling

sackcloth by shovel should have

no place in an advanced society.

Instead, to stop floodwater

from flowing through front

doors, barriers made of modern

materials such as plastic or steel

would be far more effective, but

these are still not common.

By contrast, no era in human

history has ever had better

warning of bad weather. In

1953, there were no satellites

to spot the storm surge that

killed 300 unsuspecting people.

Now readings from space

and the oceans and the rivers

are combined into powerful

computer models. In the control

room of the Thames Barrier, I

was shown the screens foreseeing

when trouble might come and

how bad it might be. As forecasts

reach one day further into the

future with each passing decade,

this science has undoubtedly

saved lives. The challenge now

is deciding how best to use the

information, because preparing

to face floods is expensive

and requires difficult choices

about where to protect. Rising

sea levels and the prospect of

more extremes make this task

more serious but, when the sky

brightens and the waters recede, it

also feels less urgent.

DAVID SHUKMAN is the BBC’s Science

Editor. @davidshukmanbbc

After the floods, we must decide

how to use science

Advances in weather

forecasting and flood defences

are saving lives, if not buildings

The science that matters

What did they do?

The psychology department at

London South Bank University has

set up a fake bar in its main campus

building that will be doling out

free drinks.

That sounds like a recipe

for disaster!

Well, there's a catch. Some

customers will be given real alcoholic

beverages, and some will receive

alcohol-free placebos. But even

those that get real booze will not be

given enough to push their blood-

alcohol levels over the drink-drive

limit. CCTV cameras will relay the

actions of the drinkers to students in

a nearby room.

What’s their goal?

The team hopes to gain an insight

into how and why people drink

alcohol and also to more closely

examine the finer details of actions

associated with addictive behaviours.

Fake pub set up in

London University

THEY DID WHAT?!

DAVID SHUKMAN