"When You Hear Hoofbeats, Think Horses, Not Zebras."

There are several sustaining medical maxims, and the title of this post is one of them.  It means that when there are indicators of a condition, think first of the most common cause of the complaint.  Don't first think of the rarest possible causes.

For years now, we've had increasing collections of flood water in the streets after even normal rains.  The drains don't work as they did.  We have increasing erosion of the streets, including cracking.

Very recently, one ocean front building in Surfside collapsed, and last night, another was evacuated for what was considered imminent danger.  And Miami Beach has more, and more sustained, street flooding after rains than we do.

"It doesn't take a rocket scientist," as they say, to conclude that with climate change, and rising seas and water tables, there is less opportunity for water collections to dissipate, and increasing damage is done by this increased water, from above and below the streets and buildings.

But still, there are people who can think of all kinds of possible reasons for the increased water, or they deny that there is increased water, and attribute the water damage to something other than water.  

Either they say they don't hear the hoofbeats, or they're pretty sure those hoofbeats are caused by, you know, the zebra population.

It's nice living in south Florida, near the ocean.  It has advantages.  It also has disadvantages.  We need to be grown up enough and responsible enough to recognize those disadvantages, and confront or accommodate them.  

This isn't the zoo, where we get to amuse ourselves observing the zebras in their pens.  It's the open plain, where we're going to get stampeded by wild horses, if we don't do something about it.  It's inconvenient, and it costs money?  Yeah, and your point is...?