tsunamis

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In a message dated 12/30/04 10:11:11 AM, and Artemis wrote:

<< It looks like the natural catastrophe in South Asia will end up killing

many more than the unnatural mayhem in > Iraq; neck and neck as of today.

(Implied is a comment about the difference between a

> tsunami and Mr. Bush et al.)

>

I see one HUGE differenc ebetween the tweo: one was volontary planned (even

if the extemnd of the chaos it turned into wasn't), the other one wasn't.

One could have been avoided by not starting it at all, the other one

couldn't. >>

Actually ... no, the earthquake and the tsunami couldn't have been avoided,

but the awesome devastation could have been mitigated if some bad practices did

not happen. Fishermen in SE Asian countries dynamite the coral reefs (for the

coral and for fish), and shrimpers destroy the mangrove swamps. Before that

happened, when a big wave came in, it first hit the reefs which slowed it a

little, then the mangroves which further robbed it of strength. A tidal wave is

unstoppable, but the natural barriers, the reefs and swamps, were the first

defenses to take some of the energy out of big waves. Further, before the 20th

Century, people in those areas wisely used to build their houses back from the

beaches, respecting the power of the sea. But to get much-needed tourist

dollars they have built right on the water.

This is not meant as a callous *they brought it on themselves* remark. They

didn't, and my heart goes out to the people there and their relatives around

the world. It is a calamity. But it will happen again, and there are things

that can be done besides putting detection bouys throughout the Ocean.

I wish our soldiers were there, helping, rather than in Iraq killing people.

phoebe

PS -- Welcome, Ed.

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[Guest guest]

Dear Phoebe,

You are very right of course. A lot can be/could have been done to make

consequences of natural disasters less, but the earth will keep on

trembling, volcanos erupting and waves rising form the sea. Earthquakes in

Japan have much less disastrous consequences that in other parts of the

world. However the earth tends to quakeharder in Japan... It makes sense to

me to talk about practices for mitigating effects of natural disasters. But

when a war is concerned, the only " bad practice " to avoid I can think of is

not to start it altogether...

Love,

Artemis

>

> Actually ... no, the earthquake and the tsunami couldn't have been

avoided,

> but the awesome devastation could have been mitigated if some bad

practices did not happen.

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