The environmental ethic that society finds itself in today, is a misguided one. It is politically driven and based round the concept of the 'balance of nature'. It assumes that the natural environment is some kind of perfect 'garden of eden' that has been pushed out of sink, by humanities progress. This misses the fact that nature has never been 'balanced'. The environment has gone through natural periods of hot and cold, it suffers from earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions and all kinds of natural disasters, that adversely affect the environment and the species within that environment.

As just one example of a potentially natural disaster, waiting to happen, is the Super Volcano, 'bubbling away' under Yellowstone National Park in the U.S. State of Wyoming and extending to Montana and Idaho. This natural underground phenomena of nature is considered to be, potentially the most destructive force on the planet.

The last recorded eruption of a Super Volcano, was estimated to be between 71,000 and 75,000 years ago, in Toba, Sumatra. The 'bomb-blastic' energy released from this 'super monster' was the equivalent of approximately 10,000 Mount St. Helens. The force unleashed from an eruption, would be frighteningly devastating and cataclysmic. What is particularly worrying, is that since the 1920's scientists have realized that the ground underneath Yellowstone, is beginning to swell up. The upward force, is like a cork on a bottle and when the surface of Yellowstone gives, it will pop open like a champagne cork bottle top.

These Super Volcanoes erupt with an astonishing 'clockwork' regularity, and they come in cycles, approximated around every 600,000 years. The last know eruption was approximately 650,000 years ago... Yellowstone has past its 'blow-by' date. In the meantime, the pressure underground keeps building.

What is frightening is what scientists tell us: 'It's not a question of if this Super Volcano erupts, rather, it's a question of when'. It is just a scientific inevitability that sooner or later all that pressure has to escape. It has been estimated, that such an eruption would kill everyone within a thousand kilometer radius. The long term effects would be even more devastating, the ash in the atmosphere would block out the suns rays, creating what is know as a nuclear winter, this would devastate crop production and lead to mass starvation. This effect would span virtually the entire globe.

When you weigh-up, the potential

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

---

Add your voice

Know something about Elements of an environmentalist ethic for a consumer age?
We want to hear your view. Write now!