Disaster – An inevitable future

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As we have learned, the possibility for disaster will always loom as part of our future as human beings, and as inhabitants of a planet that was created by such events that we can only label as disaster when they invade our lives. Natural disasters formed the basic structure of the world we live in, and some scientific studies attempt to prove that the etiology of humans in general can be traced back to events of such magnitude.

It is an impending future that we must learn to live with in regards to disaster. Though some have made attempts, trying to prevent natural disaster from occurring is futile. Our history is littered with tales of disaster. Evidence of catastrophe can be found in nearly every type of rock formation, and in the water we drink, and in the air we breathe. It can only be concluded that what we term as natural disaster could also be nature’s way of evolution.

Perhaps the most dangerous disaster that we, as a human species, should concern ourselves with the most is that of which is created by mankind. Each day, we stare in the face of impending disaster, without even giving it a second thought. We send our children out to drive on the same streets as those carrying hazardous materials, and we continue to build structures that only test the laws of physics. We push the dynamics of speed and gravity to the extremes, and then are shocked by the destructive nature when disaster occurs as a result.

In August of 1945, the United States made the choice of using nuclear weapons on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The post-war estimates of human casualties extend past 200,000 people killed in the bombings. Each year, death tolls attributed to crime, manmade sickness, mechanical accidents, and war far exceed those caused by natural phenomenon.

We live in a dangerous world that can expect to see disaster occur on a daily basis. Population increases and overcrowding only serve to exacerbate the possibilities. We have a responsibility to prepare ourselves for those events in which we not only create ourselves, but also those in which helped form the very basis of our existence.

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