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Sunday, November 10, 2013

Typhoon Haiyan. The Most Perfect Storm since Creation!

The view from The International Space Station

This storm formed in the south Pacific Ocean, but had it formed in the Atlantic Ocean it would have covered the distance from Canada down to Florida, and its effects would have been felt both along the eastern shores of America and Canada and western Europe at the same time. The world has not seen a storm this big and fercious since the world was created.

It slammed into the Phillippines during the week of November 4th to 10th, with sustained winds of 315 kph. To try and imagine what that was like, go and stand next to the rail lines in Japan when the bullet train goes by at 300 kph. However, the storm experience lasted for hours.

Wind gusts were felt of 380 kph, at least that is what is estimated because the wind gauges broke. I have lived through many a storm, the worst being a class 3.(Storms are graded up to class 5. That will have to change because this one was off the grid.) When you get wind gusts, even in such low class storms as I have experienced the sound is like BAM! BOOM!  Even an athesist is likely to shout: "JESUS CHRIST! WHAT WAS THAT!"

The only fortunate thing was that the storm was moving forward at 47 kph, but even then, it is so huge that it has taken days to pass.  Early on we were told that 100 people were confirmed dead, but that figure rose to 1,200, and now it has jumped to 10,000, but be warned, there will be more to be counted, to the extent that the world may never know the full extent of loss of life.

Why did this happen, and what does it mean for the future of other countries?

This is most probably an effect of Global Warming, with warmer oceans fuelling the growth and power of storms. The logic makes perfect sense. If I were a constant traveller on the Space Station I would have seen earth's population continously grow to the seven billion mark, and along with that I would have seen more of the earth's resources used to serve mankind. I would have seen whole swathes of forest felled, and the forests are earth's lungs. I would have noted the impact of rising greenhouse gases on the planet; I would have seen the melting icecaps everytime I passed over, and that would not be good news at all.

We seem to expect that as a result of people living longer the population will stand at ten billion in the foreseeable future, but that will not be sustainable. Even seven billion is far too many, so the earth is pushing back.

The Phillippines is situated in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific. It occupies 300,000 square kilometres, comprised of 7,107 islands. It is home to 98 million peace loving residents. It is also one of the most unlucky places in the world. It sits right in the Typhoon corridor, and this year alone it has had to contend with damage from other typhoons and an earthquake.  So, those poor people did not need to receive the distinction of being struck by the largest storm on the planet..ever! (The other country in contention for most unlucky is Haiti.)

Mother Nature is pushing back against the tide of ever growing people by periodically culling the species. It may be done through hurricanes/typhoons or tsunamis, or other natural forces. Previously, mankind controlled itself through wars, but although we have come very close to wiping the planet clean of life forms, other than cockroaches, we have found the reserve not to do that. We now have a determined group that insists on killing people who are only going about their business while shopping or eating or working, but that is not fast enough.

I get it! I understand that life on earth, and earth itself is all about a very delicate balance, and anything that disturb's that balance has to be redressed in some way. You may not wish to recognize  CONTROL as God, or Bhudda, The Phrophet, or by any of the well known names, but we live in such chaos that is too perfect for there not to be CONTROL.

At least we are living with climate change, and that is caused to a very large degree by our own needs to exist. The least we can do is plant a tree to offset those that are being taken down. The Canopy Project wants to plant an initial 10 million trees. Google them and join in and do your part to repair the damage of your own carbon footprint.

Meanwhile, I truly fear that there will be more super storms to come with more culling of the species. Not a happy thought!

Copyright (c) 2013  Eugene Carmichael