Japan Tragedy: A wake-up call?

FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND people have lost their lives in 2010 to natural disasters. Mother Nature has struck, and struck hard again. The devastating earthquake at Japan has caused massive damage to life and property over major parts of Japan. All the development, all the technological advancements there are can do nothing, absolutely nothing to combat the might of nature. Perhaps, it is indeed these developments that are causing these natural disasters.

The year 2010 was a disastrous year with calamities taking lives and causing destruction without respite.

• Nearly half of the victims of the total 2010 casualties were from the Haiti earthquake alone.
• Chile suffered a terrible 8.8 magnitude earthquake with more than 500 killed and 300,000 homes damaged.
• Almost 12 million people were affected in the floods in Pakistan with around 1200 losing their lives to the waters.
• Wild fires in Russia caused smog killing an estimated number of 15,000 and causing health problems to thousands more.
• A raging snowstorm struck the north eastern part of US in late December (though now that seems merely inconvenient as compared to the rest of the list).
• An Icelandic Eyjafjallajokull volcano (how unpronounceable is that!) spewed gas over Northern Europe disrupting flights and travel for an extended period of time.
• New Zealand was hit with a 7.7 magnitude earthquake causing damage of millions. Even as the recovery progressed slowly, further tremors though lesser in extent hampered recovery efforts.
• Indonesia suffered another earthquake and Tsunami causing damage though not as massive as the others.
• A cold wave struck the usually not-so-cold Peru and Argentina killing several hundred unaccustomed to the cold.

Plodding through the Snowstorm in NE America

While the world grappled with disasters in 2010, nature did not relent in 2011.

• 2011 did not start too well either, with the Brazil floods causing landslides and taking many lives.
• Australia experienced the same problems with major cities being inundated for several days.

This list very unfortunately is not an exhaustive list and there have been many cyclones which have been terrible too as unexpected that they were. I pray for all those affected to pick up the pieces and restart their lives.

Increased urbanization, deforestation, depletion of the ozone layer, global warming have now started perpetuating the debilitating effects of human ‘progress’ and several lives are heavily paying for it. If terrorists can’t get one, there is indeed no telling when these natural disasters will. Ofcourse, I don’t want to predict any doomsday or acocalypse, but one can’t help feeling a sense of utter helplessness when tragedy strikes. However, I do feel, that it is indeed high time, that the industrial community, governments, and individuals started to understand the evil that is happening because of the consumerist and the selfish progress that has been made by mankind to disrupt the ecological balance that has kept life on earth alive for several million years before the advent of the Humans.

Industries need to stop spewing noxious fumes and toxins depleting the ozone layer. It is necessary to reduce CO2 emissions and going green whether it is green vehicles, power or manufacturing. Individuals need to use less disposable things such as paper products, napkins, use less electricity as far as possible and preach the message as they practice. More trees need to be planted and population needs to be reduced! Whew, I guess, writing it, makes it sound pretty difficult considering burgeoning populations and lack of space and increased consumerism! But, notwithstanding the immensity and the challenges of the tasks, everything possible has to be done with a sense of urgency.

If the ever increasing list of natural disasters is not a wake-up call then what will it ever be?