In the past week, the eruption of a volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland has caused chaos around the world. The ash cloud closed down the skies over Europe and left thousands of people stranded in far-flung corners of the globe. Only now is air travel is now beginning to return to normal in Europe and around the world.
What made this event striking was not the large number of flight cancellations or the lack of effective measures for tackling the crisis but the clear disengagement between people and nature. There has been a belief that the forces of nature can’t impact the functioning of technologically advanced societies. The artificial environment we have constructed around us (exemplified by the global airline system) presumes a benign natural environment. The current eruption is an example of the environment’s true colours. Perhaps we should stop looking at the most unexpected disasters and focus instead on common geologic events that have the potential to wreak havoc on our lives simply because of the technological framework that we have overlaid on the natural environment.
People can delude themselves into thinking that we can control nature but the forces that shape this planet are much stronger than ourselves. We must respect the natural world and be conscious of its undeniable power and beauty. The choking plumes of ash that Eyjafjallajökull is spewing out may have slowly diminished, but the volcano is still managing to mount some spectacular displays against dramatic backdrops of lightning showers and the Northern Lights. The stunning image above shows the heavenly phenomenon of green aurora ripples above Eyjafjallajokull’s fire fountains.