HINDsight : "Human Induced Natural Disasters"
If we try to figure out the mindset of the human race, for most part of our existence on the planet we have persistently striven for economic, scientific and technological development. Blinded by the extensive strife to ascend the pinnacle of success, we have dismissed the obstructive effects of our activities which have rather left an unerasable mark on the face of the earth. Through our constant efforts to scale the heights of economic and technological advancements and increasing inclination towards a more capitalistic mindset, we have changed the environment surrounding us in many ways. Changes which might even backfire on the human race in form of "unnatural" disasters or rather "Human Induced Natural Disasters".
We often blame humans for climate change, but our actions have also had a huge impact on the changing geography and topography. As per a report published by Al Jazeera on Man-made disasters, between 2004 and 2010, small landslides (not caused by earthquakes) have been responsible for more than 32,000 fatalities. The major cause of these unnatural landslides has been extensive encroachment of the mountains, building pressure on high altitudes, deforestation and tampering with the natural landscape. The cause of a 5.7 magnitude earthquake that rendered about a dozen families homeless in Oklahoma has been traced down to a nearby oil field where waste water had been disposed off by pumping it underground into porous rocks for two decades. Drilling, illegal mining, large scale deforestation, loss of biodiversity, overpopulation and unsustainable consumption of resources have triggered the nature to seek vengeance on the human race.
One of the quite recent example of man made natural disaster is the 2013 cloudburst in Uttarakhand, India. 3 days of extensive rainfall in the highest mountain range of the world affecting 4200 villages and causing about 5700 deaths is nothing short of an instance of mass homicide. The Himalayas are young fold mountains and we are exposing them to immense pressure such as building of roads in inaccessible regions, illegal mining and large scale deforestation due to an interplay of corrupt political interventions and human greed.The natural disasters are not as natural as the bureaucrats are trying to portray them. Increased growth in tourism, unplanned construction and ponderous influx of pilgrims in an ecologically sensitive zone is responsible for taking numerous lives. Many hydroelectric power plants have been commissioned in the Uttarakhand region. Dams and Hydropower plants tend to disrupt the natural course of water in the ecosystem. Trying to alter the nature for personalised gains can rather turn into an incident of nature trying to alter the way of handling human lives. The choking of rivers by debris caused extreme overflow cutting through houses and claiming lives.
[photo courtesy : PTI]
Extreme disasters like eruption of a volcano, natural earthquakes, tsunamis or getting hit by an asteroid cannot be prevented by humans. What can be prevented are these Human Induced Natural Disasters. If we let nature be natural and not try to alter it for our personal ambitions, it will not penalize us with its horrendous actions. It is high time, we need to realise that we must not tamper with the natural functioning of the environment or we will have to bear the brunt of nature's power.
We often blame humans for climate change, but our actions have also had a huge impact on the changing geography and topography. As per a report published by Al Jazeera on Man-made disasters, between 2004 and 2010, small landslides (not caused by earthquakes) have been responsible for more than 32,000 fatalities. The major cause of these unnatural landslides has been extensive encroachment of the mountains, building pressure on high altitudes, deforestation and tampering with the natural landscape. The cause of a 5.7 magnitude earthquake that rendered about a dozen families homeless in Oklahoma has been traced down to a nearby oil field where waste water had been disposed off by pumping it underground into porous rocks for two decades. Drilling, illegal mining, large scale deforestation, loss of biodiversity, overpopulation and unsustainable consumption of resources have triggered the nature to seek vengeance on the human race.
One of the quite recent example of man made natural disaster is the 2013 cloudburst in Uttarakhand, India. 3 days of extensive rainfall in the highest mountain range of the world affecting 4200 villages and causing about 5700 deaths is nothing short of an instance of mass homicide. The Himalayas are young fold mountains and we are exposing them to immense pressure such as building of roads in inaccessible regions, illegal mining and large scale deforestation due to an interplay of corrupt political interventions and human greed.The natural disasters are not as natural as the bureaucrats are trying to portray them. Increased growth in tourism, unplanned construction and ponderous influx of pilgrims in an ecologically sensitive zone is responsible for taking numerous lives. Many hydroelectric power plants have been commissioned in the Uttarakhand region. Dams and Hydropower plants tend to disrupt the natural course of water in the ecosystem. Trying to alter the nature for personalised gains can rather turn into an incident of nature trying to alter the way of handling human lives. The choking of rivers by debris caused extreme overflow cutting through houses and claiming lives.
[photo courtesy : PTI]
Extreme disasters like eruption of a volcano, natural earthquakes, tsunamis or getting hit by an asteroid cannot be prevented by humans. What can be prevented are these Human Induced Natural Disasters. If we let nature be natural and not try to alter it for our personal ambitions, it will not penalize us with its horrendous actions. It is high time, we need to realise that we must not tamper with the natural functioning of the environment or we will have to bear the brunt of nature's power.
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