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. Click here to contact Mr. Fletcher.