I’ve never really cared for Earth Day until this year. I can’t help but laugh at the irony of all these people talking about taking care of “mother earth” when it seems as if “mother earth” is doing her best lately to destroy us. How many tens of thousands of people have died recently in earthquakes occurring from Haiti to China, from Chile to Japan. And I heard that the number of 7.0 or higher magnitude quakes are on par with previous years. The only difference is that they are hitting populous areas and/or areas that are not equipped to handle earthquakes resulting in massive damage. It goes to figure that the more populated the earth than the greater number killed by earthquakes, floods, avalanches, hurricanes etc. So those Club of Rome doomsday sayers concerned about overpopulation shouldn’t be worried since it seems as if earth will easily take care of any overpopulation problems.Additionally, these Earth Day people who worry and lecture about what damage humans are doing to earth has always struck me as being incredibly arrogant. I truly believe that more damage is done through natural disasters than through anything, short of nuclear war, done by people. The earth is one tough old broad who has been around for millenniums and has survived a lot. All the damage done by people is insignificant to the destruction by a major natural disaster such as a tornado, hurricane or tidal wave.
We typically think of natural disasters as being water based (hurricanes, tornadoes, floods) or earth based (earthquakes, mud slides). So an airborne natural disaster is something that no one
was prepared for. How can you not be astounded at the result of a volcanic eruption in Iceland of all places? One unpronounceable volcano has managed to completely shut down all air traffic in Western Europe. It boggles the mind. Who knows what the final cost might be to the airlines and all the disrupted work by the millions who are stranded somewhere. And it appears that this will go on for days and days.Yet, in all the news stories about the volcano, has anyone heard anybody discuss the effect of the ash currents on the greenhouse effect and our ozone? Nope, I haven’t heard a word. Funny, isn’t it? This is the biggest source of dirty air pollution in decades and no one has discussed its effects on our atmosphere. What kind of cap and trade reprimand will the UN impose on Iceland for its environmentally unsound volcano? How does this equate to the atmosphere mankind is supposed to pollute each year? Somehow I doubt if the mainstream media will ever talk about any of this when they celebrate Earth Day next week. Sure there will be a lot of talk about the horrible human race destroying the earth but discuss how earth is polluting and destroying its own atmosphere or lands or waters? I don't think so...
I have been fascinated by this story and an article by Claire Bates for MailOnline really intrigued me. In 1883, when the volcano erupted, an Icelandic man wrote the following
in his diary “I was walking along a path with two friends - the sun was setting - suddenly the sky turned blood red - I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence - there was blood and tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city - my friends walked on, and I stood there trembling with anxiety - and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature.” The diarist was Edvard Munch, the artist who, based on this experience, painted his famous picture “The Scream”.Over 100 years later, the same volcano erupts again. This time we are able to view it from above and a recent radar image shows the following picture. Scary, isn’t it? Maybe the artist really did hear the earth scream…
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