Quotes by Jeffrey Mount

“The system cant do what were asking it to do. That system was designed to protect mostly agricultural land.”

“New Orleans has lost the battle with the inevitable, and we will do the same.”

“New Orleans lost the battle with the inevitable, and we will suffer the same fate in some form here in California.”

“We are an obstinate bunch.”

“Unlike most animals - with some exceptions like beavers - we engineer our environment. So that allows us to hang on in places that would otherwise be singularly inhospitable.”

“Levee failure is not an if, its a when. There seems to be a willingness to tolerate the human suffering and property loss that might come with these events.”

“The states water policy and all its plans for restoration of the delta are predicated on one flawed assumption -- that the delta is a fixed landscape and will look the same for the indefinite future. And it wont.”

“If these had been in place, at least some of the energy in the storm surge would have been dissipated. This is a self-inflicted wound.”

“[The risk is heightened by climate changes that could bring less snow and more rain to the highest elevations of the Sierra Nevada. As a result, water surging into the Sacramento River and the delta will greatly increase the chances of winter floods.] The states water policy and all its plans for restoration of the delta are predicated on one flawed assumption -- that the delta is a fixed landscape and will look the same for the indefinite future, ... And it wont.”

“This is a dynamic landscape that is changing at a pace that exceeds the ability of our policy and law to adjust.”