One political position that Mitt Romney took that will probably not be repeated between now and the election is that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) should be eliminated and that the states should be allowed to deal with disasters by themselves.
It's almost humorous to watch the Republican governors transform themselves into supporters of the federal government to rescue their states during times such as these.
The reality is that national disasters bring about the need for strong cooperation between our states to overcome costs that are too big for any one state. While we certainly cannot link any one weather event to climate change, the reality is that severe weather is happening more frequently and with greater ferocity.
While some may debate what's contributing to this trend, no one can deny the empirical data that affects how much we pay in insurance. Megastorms are becoming more commonplace, and never has the case for a strong FEMA been more clear.
MICHAEL EMERSON, EDEN PRAIRIE
