Weekend Open Forum: Mother Nature's fury

[Matthew DeCarlo]

Every year, Mother Nature claims thousands of lives and causes billions in damage worldwide. In the US, nearly every month this year has brought a catastrophe costing $1 billion or more, according to the NOAA. A blizzard blanketed the Midwest and Northeast in late January early February while tornadoes ravaged the Southeast and Midwest this spring. 

In the last month alone, an extremely rare 5.8 earthquake rattled the East Coast albeit with only minor injuries and damage, followed by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. Many parts of the country have received record precipitation with ongoing flood warnings (my area included), while other regions are battling prolonged droughts and fierce wildfires.

Japan, of course, has suffered the greatest blow this year with March's earthquake and tsunami, not to mention the radiation exposure from its nuclear meltdowns. Anyhow, without listing every cataclysm on record, the point is, this blue marble isn't as gentle as we'd like it to be. Have you been affected by any natural disasters (recent or otherwise)? If so, did you learn anything from the experience? Do you make long-term preparations against environmental catastrophes, such as food and water reserves or backup power for your appliances and electronics?

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/45426-weekend-open-forum-mother-natures-fury.html

 

[gwailo247]

The lesson I learned from natural disasters was not to live downwind of a Soviet nuclear power plant.

 

[NTAPRO]

No one to blame but the humans

Hmmm

 

[Cueto_99]

Well, once there was an earthquake, it lasted around 1 minute, I was in the fourth floor of the building when I felt it... I started running and jumping downstairs as fast as i could, and by the time I got to the street the earthquake finished... I guess if it would have been stronger I wouldn't be here writing this...

 

[Cota]

Just like Earl would say, nice punch Karma.

Im not into any "divine identity/'s group" (for not saying the R word) but i do believe sometimes, and just sometimes the spit gets back to your face and im not saying it only hits the "bad guys" but it also hits innocent people, but and im saying this the more nicely i can, as a whole we are very ducked up.

 

[Guest]

I lived in midwest my whole life. As a child i watched my house get almost destroyed by a twister. One thing i learned never take tornado watches and warnings for granted you could easily get blowed away. We always have a backup of supplies in the basement, flashlights, blankets, first aid, water, canned goods, police scanner, weather radio, chain saw....other stuff. I remember the blizzard last winter, wasnt to bad where i lived. snowed around 11 inches drifts were killer though. Its always better to be proactive instead of waiting till the crap hits the fan and then wondering what to do like an *****.

 

[Guest]

Natural disasters have been happening all over the world, but now its worthy of news because the US was involved. zzz

 

[ramonsterns]

Guest said:
Natural disasters have been happening all over the world, but now its worthy of news because the US was involved. zzz

This is just a tech site and this isn't even a news article, someone seems upset.

 

[nickblame]

A physics professor of mine in high school used to say "There's no such thing as nature's fury.. nature doesn't hate anybody.. its just nature and that's the way it is."
I kind of agree that the media likes to put it this way.

 

[Benny26]

The UK's quite a lucky country for overall mother nature: all we suffer from are floods, and those could be prevented a lot more if the big G pulled its finger out.

We catch the rare tornado in the south or the rare earthquake...A 5.0 was the last we had in the north.

 

[Guest]

Sorry to post as guest, but I rarely post here, so I do not have an account set up.

Call me the religious nut . It is just the signs of the end days. As the end of the age draws nearer, more and more natural events will happen. Just like birthing pains, things will only get worse before they get better, the return of Christ. Well, only better for the ones who believe in our Savior Jesus Christ.

 

[Misch868]

Fortunately for me, my hometown of Erie, PA was voted the second safest city this year:

http://www.wisebread.com/10-safest-cities-in-america-from-natural-disasters

My heart goes out to all those families effected by natural disaster, though.

 

[Guest]

Gee we haven't heard that one before..............

 

[KG363]

I've lived in Miami, Fl my entire life and we have a small generator, but we don't really stockpile anything. If a hurricane is coming we'll buy flashlights, batteries, gas, and some water, but the only things that happen is a loss of power. Our water never gets contaminated or anything like that.

I've lived through more hurricanes than I can count but I've always come out unscathed with no property damage past tree branches everywhere and MAYBE a downed tree. But the days after a hurricane are cool so the yardwork isn't that bad and having no AC isn't terrible. After about 3 days, that's when it gets hot.

 

[SammyJames]

Some people blame overcrowding -- overpopulation -- on the massive climate changes that appear to be destroying so many of us. Logically, however, I'm given to believe that the problem is certainly overpopulation -- it's just a different set of causes that lead to the destruction.

Many more homes are built next to bodies of water now than ever before. The water is the greatest problem. In places where heat and dry conditions persist, like in Texas, overpopulation means that fires can move quickly through densely-populated towns. In places like Memphis, where the river is a stone's throw away from downtown, overpopulation is more likely to be at the root of rising flood waters claiming land and lives.

The whole thing can be summed up neatly: If we continue to expand the number of humans on this planet, many more of them will suffer, because there is a finite number of resources available. Resources include land, water, food, and materials that we use for our technology.

It's up to us. I see a world in which growing populations cause even bigger problems. This could lead to a catastrophic war. Or, it might cause enough people to die "naturally" that we end up with a shrunk or shrinking population.

The best way to avoid this is to stabilize and slowly pare down our numbers. But it's difficult to do that, when governments are scaling back on eductaion. Educated people tend to have fewer children; religiously-motivated and uneducated people tend to have more.

These are NOT political views that I've just written. They are facts. You may dispute them if you want to, but the only way to succeed in countering them is by offering alternative facts that disprove what I've printed here.

Good luck with that.

 

[matrix86]

Guest said:
Natural disasters have been happening all over the world, but now its worthy of news because the US was involved. zzz

Yeah, because...you know...Chile, Hati, Japan...none of those were covered all over every news station for at least 2 weeks. *rolls eyes*

 

[SammyJames]

matrix86 said:
Yeah, because...you know...Chile, Hati, Japan...none of those were covered all over every news station for at least 2 weeks. *rolls eyes*

Not to mention that Haiti and Japan are two of the most densely-populated countries on the planet. North America has one of the lowest populations among continents world-wide too -- behind Asia, Africa, and Europe. The top five populated cities include Tokyo and Mexico, D.F. -- and no American cities are in the top five either.

The guest said that America is to blame for these problems. Ironically, despite that Billy Graham and Oral Roberts WISHED that we would all have stopped using condoms, they haven't gotten their wish. And this is at the heart of the problem -- more affluent, better-educated societies tend to have fewer children. This is because of a combination of technology and smarts.

I hate to seem so cold about all of this. I love humans, and I wish that we could solve our global crises. But it won't happen unless people start waking up and realizng that we cannot grow our way out of this problem. In fact, growing is causing the problem.

 

[SammyJames]

Guest said:

Call me the religious nut.

Okay. You're the religious nut.

Happy now?

 

[tonylukac]

Some very intelligent remarks here. I think that the heat alone each individual generates alters the climate by itself. Why doesn't the military start controlling the weather and create machines to? I wouldn't mind a warmer winter climate in the midwest.

 

[Guest]

"Mother Nature claims thousands of lives"

Yes, and within the next 100 years or so it will have claimed about 6 billion human lives. Guaranteed. Including everyone reading this article and the writer.

It will also have generated another 8 billion.

Are we really so clued out when it comes to our mother?

 

[Guest]

This is the most boring and tech-less weekend open forum I've ever seen here. I come here to read/discuss tech related matters, not whether or not my PC is scared of hurricane Bob. amg

 

[Guest]

global warming gas is coming out my *****

 

[SammyJames]

Guest said:
This is the most boring and tech-less weekend open forum I've ever seen here. I come here to read/discuss tech related matters, not whether or not my PC is scared of hurricane Bob. amg

Wow. Wow! WOW!!! You are SO right -- O -- M -- G -- I mean, OH MY Good golly @#$%! GOSH-DARN! I mean, you know, well, wow -- see, I thought that that whole topic last weekend -- "Do YOU buy DLC on-line?" was practically worthy of a Pulitzer. Real great stuff.

You're right. Talking about hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, famine, disease, people DYING all over the place -- booooooooooo-ring.

Whew.

 

[mailpup]

No need to shout, SammyJames.

 

[Guest]

SammyJames:
Hey. It's you favorite "Guest" here. I just wanted to say that I actually liked last weekend's open forum. I always took it for granted that people bought DLC for their favorite games. I had no idea there even was a standpoint *against* buying DLC before I read that article. I was something along the lines of "Wah! Wah! They're milking us poor people for money. Wah!" Silly me. I just buy the DLC and enjoy having more content for my favorite games. I never realized I should hate DLC. Not that I ever will, mind you, but it was an interesting topic. Far more interesting than reading about the weather. I can talk about the weather with boring strangers at a bus stop if I feel the need. I don't visit "TechSpot" for the weather. I understand you find my insensitivity offensive, but I didn't make all that **** happen. If you care so deeply, go outside and yell at the weather. Anger management, beibeih.