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BY HARPREET KAUR
 Nostradamus
predicted the destruction of Earth in three terrifying
waves - let’s assume, the two World Wars and maybe, a
much more devastating nuclear war. But destruction need
not be so dramatic. The unrestrained development of
industries for modern conveniences may be destroying the
Earth bit by bit, and not in just the three massive
waves Nostradamus spoke of.
Thomas Malthus, in his famous work Essay on the
Principle of Population states that ‘human population
will keep on increasing till checked by natural
limitations. Although his theory has a lot to do with
population growth which would eventually outrun food
supply, Malthus did not pinpoint a timeframe for this
catastrophe. But in between the lines, he certainly
states that nature would eventually have the run of the
entire world once again. According to Malthus, the
catastrophe can only be prevented by self-restraint.
But restraint has never been the most important of
human traits. The world witnessed Noah’s flood and Moses
parting of the Red sea in the scriptures. Mankind
endured hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, volcanic
eruptions, landslides, floods, drought, thinning of
ozone layer over the Antartica, melting of ice flows
causing rise in the sea water level, disappearence of
rivers, creation and spreading of deserts, tsunamis ..
all in fact to do with change in climate and human
development.
Changes in nature have occurred on Earth till the
bginning of time, and will always continue. Every
ancient religious text narrates some manifestation of
nature’s fury, even though they may have been written in
languages and locatons far different from each other.
It leads to a question: Is it a blasphemy on nature
to dig, probe, destroy and recreate God’s creations? One
believes that mankind has been given this place to live
and let live, a repository of faith on behalf of a
greater power. We may be allowed to make changes for
material convenience but, not to destroy something that
cannot be recreated or saved.
Perhaps the lessons from the past will help us better
to prepare for the future and is warning us that
tampering with nature can have drastic effect on the
world as a whole like it has recently with the
earthquake and tsunami at Aceh, Indonesia has resulted
in the earth wobbling on its axis and changing its tilt,
changing the entire look of the islands and their shape,
and shifting of the continental plates.
Over the last 20,000 years or so, entire human
societies have risen and fallen. All these communities
have been subject to some natural disasters or other.
- In 1500 BC, an earthquake shook the Minoan
site of Akrotiri, on the tip of the active volcano
called Thera or Santorini. Subsequently, the
volcano erupted, burying the site under meters of
volcanic debris. Some archaeologists believe that
this was also the reason for the end of the Minoan
culture. Although no human remains were found, the
eruption did not hit several stunning wall
frescoes.
- Between 1300 and 1200 BC, an earthquake hit
the Mediterranean, causing damage to the Cretan
and Greek palaces of the Mycenaean culture and
Troy. Some researchers believe that the "Trojan
Horse" of Homer's Iliad was a metaphor for the
earthquake, which damaged the fortification walls
and made invasion easier.
- Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, destroying
Herculaneum and Pompeii, killing thousands of
people.
- On June 7, 1692, a total of 33 acres of the
"wickedest city on earth," Port Royal, Jamaica
(the famed port for pirates), was dropped into
Kingston Harbour by a massive earthquake.
- On January 26, 1700, at 9:00 am local time, an
enormous tsunami washed over the coasts of Japan,
with waves ranging in height from two to three
metres. Such a tidal wave could be the result of
an earthquake on the eastern shore of the Pacific
Ocean. Researchers at the University of Washington
used computer models to identify probable
locations, and found geological evidence of a +9
magnitude earthquake and the resulting tsunami
from Cascadia, in the American states of
Washington and Oregon. Corroborating evidence for
the earthquake and tsunami were recovered from an
archaeological site on the Salmon River in Oregon,
radiocarbon dated 1695-1710.
- El Nino, the current of warm water, which
plays havoc with the weather of the world, has
been impacting the archaeological sites of Peru
for at least the past 1200 years.
BY HARPREET KAUR
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