The
eruption of Iceland�s volcano, Eyjafjallajokull, should provide
plenty of food for thought for myriad of columns.� When, for example,
was the last time that you considered that one volcano could completely
disrupt international air transportation?� And, by the way, this
is taking place while we are awaiting the eruption of an even bigger
volcano that neighbors Eyjafjallajokull!
While experts debate the potential long-term economic impact
of the volcano, I have found myself thinking about the eruption
in the context of environmental crisis, but perhaps not in the way
that you might think.� The eruption of Eyjafjallajokull has nothing
to do with global warming, at least as far as anyone can tell.�
In fact, it might even cool off Europe through the ash in the air
(though it will also produce acid rain).�
What this eruption should remind us is that, in addition
to human-made environmental disasters, nature has a thing or two
up its sleeve, and these surprises are just that, surprises. Yes,
there are rough predictions, but the point is that the disasters
cannot themselves be averted.� The eruption of Eyjafjallajokull
was going to happen; the question was when.��
Despite knowing that nature provides us with disasters,
some of which are now enhanced through climate change (e.g., stronger
and more frequent hurricanes and typhoons), mainstream political
and economic circles always seems surprised when they occur and
almost never prepared. When it comes to hurricanes, of course, certain
countries�Cuba in particular��get� the steps that need to be taken
in order to prepare the public and to minimize damage. They do not
delude themselves every hurricane season that there will not be,
yet another, major storm.� As a consequence, in general few people
perish in hurricanes that hit Cuba.� Contrast that with Haiti which
has followed a very different developmental path.
I am not a vulcanologist and would, therefore, not presume
to suggest what steps any nation could or should take in light of
a volcanic eruption.� It is worth thinking, however, about the broad
impact that this one volcano is having on millions of people, both
immediately and over the long term.� Step back from this and consider
other elements of the environment that are in crisis, albeit for
very different reasons.� Here again, inertia prevails.� Either outright
denial of the extent of a real or potential disaster, or a belief
that the ramifications are so far off as to not be of particular
concern at the moment.
No, there was no giant concrete cone that could have been
put on top of Iceland�s volcano to minimize the impact of the eruption.�
We can, however, stop acting as if such disasters are unusual or
totally unexpected.� Instead, we should recognize that unpredictability
is the law of the universe and that disasters will happen.� In light
of that very basic fact, human activity should be focused on minimizing
the consequences of such disasters and not accelerating them through
our own myopic activity.
BlackCommentator.com Editorial Board member,
Bill Fletcher, Jr., is a Senior Scholar with the Institute for Policy Studies, the immediate past
president ofTransAfrica Forum and co-author of, Solidarity
Divided: The Crisis in Organized Labor and a New Path toward Social
Justice (University of California
Press), which examines the crisis of organized labor in the USA.
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