Disasters waiting to happen
http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/feature/story/0,13026,1383672,00.html
The tsunami may have been an act of nature, but further environmental
catastrophes caused by humans will be much worse, says Jared Diamond
Thursday January 6, 2005
The Guardian
The events of Boxing day have shown us all how fragile our existence
is. The tsunami was an unavoidable natural disaster, which could happen
anytime. But not all disasters are so beyond our control. Our own
actions may provoke global catastrophes just as forceful as those in
the Indian ocean.
Take the human impact on sea levels. Imagine you live on an island
safely 15 feet above sea level. If human-induced climate change raises
those levels by only a few feet, the difference man has made could
spell disaster in the event of a 12ft tsunami. We cannot stop another
tsunami. But the threats of man-made environmental collapse are now
more pressing than ever.
Jared Diamond
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/talk.origins/msg/d27f0debddcbfc54
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