Every year billions are spent in Britain and Europe on policies that wreck homes and lives through flooding

 Monbiot goes on to say 'Many years ago, river managers believed that the best way to prevent floods was to straighten, canalise and dredge rivers along much of their length, to enhance their capacity for carrying water. They soon discovered that this was not just wrong but also counterproductive. A river can, at any moment, carry very little of the water that falls on its catchment: the great majority must be stored in the soils and on the floodplains.'

 Read the full article from The Guardian 13th January 2014 here