View of Chernobyl power plant taken from the roof of a building in Pripyat, Ukraine - Chernobyl Disaster 1986
Tsunami disaster, Ao Nang, Thailand, December 26, 2004.
Look at those two images above. They are both disasters, right? They both have caused massive death to parts of the world. Why? Who is at fault? Could they have been prevented? Could humans have prepared better? Had Japan learned from Chernobyl and Thailand, would the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear crisis still have happened, in addition to the other massive tsunami damage Japan suffered? Is the Japan disaster from earlier this year being studied by whoever is next? Who is next? Are they prepared? What if they aren't?
In class on Monday evening, one of the slides begins with "All disasters are human made", which to a point I can understand. Had no one lived near Chernobyl, or had the plant not existed at all, then that disaster would not have happened. Also, had there been no systems errors, then it too could have been avoided. Humans designed those systems. Had the area in Thailand not been extremely populated and built for tourism, the tsunami would not have caused as much damage and death. Had Japan built all of their buildings, roads, other infrastructure etc. to withstand the potential flooding that they "could" get being an island nation in an active seismographical area, the tsunami would not have caused as much destruction as it did. If Fukushima Daiichi had more cooling systems (I believe the earthquake killed the main one, and the tsunami killed the backup one), then the level 7 crisis may not have happened.
In knowing that humans, by standard way of life, "cause" these disasters, and we are not learning from them fast enough to prevent them from happening, one can only say that things are going to get worse, right? Especially considering that the population is on the rise, on an exponential scale. More people = more disasters, based on how I have perceived things.
So what do we do about it? I know there are a ton of humanitarian organizations that are doing everything they can to help. But another wrench gets thrown in with violence towards them, another blog post story. One would think that money and power can solve these kinds of problems, but I'm tempted to say, "what money?" The U.S. government is going to start cutting a lot of programs, and I would bet that foreign aid would be one of them.
This class will be a tough one. I don't know if technology alone can do it. It will require a lot of creative thinking. That problem I just listed needs to be solved. Let's solve it.
-Pat
Pictures:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:View_of_Chernobyl_taken_from_Pripyat.JPG
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2004-tsunami.jpg
Pat- I couldn’t agree with you more about your first paragraph. I hope people are currently studying these crises and disasters, because who knows who is next, and whether or not they are prepared. The tsunami that devastated Japan is a great example. A lot of people, especially nuclear engineers from America, did a fine job criticizing Japan about the nuclear power plant situation when the earthquake and tsunami hit. The real question is are we prepared for such an event? While they spent a lot of time criticizing them through the media, I wondered if they were prepared for such a disaster if one were to happen to a power plant in America. For one, I hope they are prepared and our nuclear plants in America are safe in the case of a disaster or crises. If not, I hope the proper research and studying is going into what happened in Japan so we can respond accordingly if the same thing were to happen here, in America, or anywhere.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with the rest of your blog, in fact, my blog has a similar approach to yours. One point you mentioned that I never really thought about was “More people= more disasters” which seems to be an accurate statement if all disasters are “human-made.” You asked “what do we do about it?” There are a ton a organizations out there trying to help, and it sucks that more violence is aimed towards them in challenging emergencies. Luckily most of the funding for NGOs is going towards emergencies like these.
I also think it is hard for humanitarian organizations to learn from each disaster and crises. To an extent they are able to help and provide to each crises, but I feel like each crises or disaster is unique in its own way. There is always going to different demands and problems with each crises. It seems almost as if we can only be reactive instead of pro active. We can’t really prepare or respond efficiently until we see and learn from a similar crises or disaster.
I enjoyed reading your blog,
Zach McManigle
Hello Pat,
ReplyDeleteYou're final sentence basically sums up everything I hope could be true; "Let's solve it." People don't like to change, especially when it costs money to change something that has been operating inefficiently for years. Obviously, the humanitarianism systems are broken and cannot adapt to the evolving global situation. Also, the more people we have, the more room we have for error. If I may quote Tommy Lee Jones from his stardom in Men In Black, he sums up the idea clearly, "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it. Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow." This could be a scary thought, especially with the accepted idea that there aren't any natural disasters, rather that they are all man-made.
Moving to your point where you mention adding in the "wrench" which you refer to violence in areas that need aid, I have to say that violence is certainly a problem for humanitarian aid workers. And much like I commented on Jason's blog and mentioned in my own blogs, there are persons out there with the right motivations, but a broken system fueled by competition and donor dollars isn't going to change overnight. There is too much money involved with looking better than other aid organizations out there, which even today they can fake with a couple ads and neglected news reports. When US aid organizations move into war zones, it's becoming more and more common that the enemy cannot be distinguished from everybody else caught in the middle of the violence. Aid workers are then forced to be babysat by the protectors so that they can do their jobs. Even then, efforts are limited to the thousands suffering in such zones. At this point, it's a broken record to talk about how much of a problem Somalia represents with this exact situation.
I look forward to hearing more from you. Just always remember there are people who still have that sense of empathy who really want to help. We just have to tap into more people like that who can really save the world. Perhaps we should look into a modernized version of mediation for conflicting nations/actors? People don't like ending up in mediation, but perhaps this is our chance to change that idea.
Tony
P.S. - This was the hottest and most humid game I have ever performed in and I needed a full 24 hours worth of relaxation, fluids, and vitamins to reset my equilibriums, physical and mental. I look forward to next week's game! GO STATE!