It would seem Mt. Etna is getting upset. Although my favorite part of the above article is where it says the volcano has yet to threaten any people. I imagine the volcano holding a gun to a bunch of tourists and demanding their wallets.
I think it’s quite appropriate for there to be a massive volcanic eruption right now. Think about it, there’s been massive bird and fish deaths, flooding all over the world, continued horrors for Haiti, why not throw a lava flow on top of all that. If I were one of those, “End of Days”, type people I might be a little nervous. But I’m not.
The planet is essentially a living thing and like all living things they go through changes. Not like Earth puberty or anything, although hearing Earth’s voice change would probably be hilarious. Earth is a little too old for puberty at 4.5 billion years old; unless in universe time that is the “teens”. Then we’re in for some late nights wondering where the car is and why Earth’s room smells so bad. (Oh man, he left a plate on the floor with a half eaten sandwich on it, ewwwww!)
No I don’t think the world is coming to an end. Throughout human history there have been premonitions of the world’s demise and they’ve all been wrong, every single time. While we don’t know how close we’ve actually come to total annihilation, our still being here is proof enough of their error.
I do think that Planet Earth might be a little upset with us however. Not in the sense that we’ve been naughty and need a time out. In the sense that we have upset the natural balance, the natural order if you will. I think a lot of these intense weather incidents and environmental changes are the direct result of our selfish use of the planet and failure to recognize it as a living thing. But I don’t think we cause earthquakes and volcanic eruptions; that would just be silly. That’s all plate tectonics and such and we have very little to do with continental shifting. Unless those neighbor kids were successful in secretly tunneling to China by digging in the yard.
I do hope that Mt. Etna does not explode violently as the Krakatoa eruptions on August 26–27, 1883. That volcanic explosion was the loudest sound ever in human history. It was heard as far away as Australia, about 1,930 miles away from Indonesia. It was a massive eruption and luckily, because of its remoteness, there were only a few deaths. I certainly hope Mt. Etna is not as destructive as Mt. Vesuvius was to the people of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Now that was Biblical devastation.
On a more local level, I hope Mt. Thursday’s mood stays calm and we can get through the day without any massive eruptions. I might have to sacrifice a virgin to the volcano gods though. Crap, I don’t know any virgins. Any volunteers?
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