JANUARY 23, 2006
There
are human caused disasters and so-called natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tidal waves, and lightening caused forest fires. Somehow we call them natural to defer the blame to some unforeseen source and a source with which we can direct our anger. Some even blame God, or the Universe Force for these tragic global disasters. Natural? Or nature warning the human family that all is not well on mother earth?
If we listen carefully to the book of nature we are hearing a very tragic and compelling story of dramatic proportions unfolding yearly. The earth story is now the most important story of the 21st century.
Today because of an environmental killer called over-population we have seen the human family forced to build in harms way. Low lying islands are over-populated and the marginalized poor live in shanty towns that are susceptible to a variety of disasters.
When a tsunami races across the Indian Ocean the unsuspecting dwellers thousands of miles away are torn from their communities and a huge section of the planet is never the same. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those who lost loved ones, and our thoughts are extended to the relief workers who have been toiling for almost a month now to bring a sense of normalcy to a devastated section of the world.
Natural disasters are an environmental issue magnified dramatically. The issue is about the caring capacity of the planet. Too few leaders, developers, and regional bureaucrats take into account when structures are placed in harms way. In addition, we all want to build in beautiful areas, but nature may be telling us to save the undeveloped land and preserve the remaining pristine areas of the world.
The lessons are getting clearer yearly. The Earth is speaking, we must listen.
--Peter