woke up to see mammoth waves pouring out of the sea and taking everything in its path -the tsunami that hit hardest Thailand. The sea had unleashed all the power kept in its bosom -or was it anger nourished through years of mindless neglect. Before then, we knew little of tsunami and its indescribable force of destruction.The catastrophe has left vivid images of tragedy - the loss of human lives, of whole families vanishing in the torrent of waves as it swallowed everything along its path. The tsunami in Thailand and neighboring countries affected more than a few countries. Many Europeans vacationing in Thailand lost familymembers. The grief and mourning over this tragedy transcended national borders.
This time, it is the Japanese people mourning over the loss of many lives that up to now cannot be ascertained in number. Once again, it is the image of incredible force as the sea spilled out its content towards the land with such might and force that nothing could stand in its way, not ships, trains, huge buildings and infrastructure. Everything in its way have suddenly become small and irrelevant.
In the last few years, we have witnessed dramatic, albeit drastic changes in climate. We have seen how Europe - especially the northern part have suffered extreme cold winters, and in the south where winters are milder, the snow has become a regular visitor. Yet in other parts of the globe such as Africa it has been drought and rainless months. The climate variations are extreme and there is no telling how much climactic changes we will be witnessing.
Not too long ago in Coppenhagen, the problem of reduction of carbon dioxide emission was on the agenda and leaders of the world's most powerful nations should have marshalled an agreement to solve this urgent problem. But as expected, it was a choice between reduced economic development vs. reduced carbon dioxide emission. In the light of many countries still smarting from the impact of the 2008 financial crises, many sacrificed the environment for economic progress.
Hard choices to make but the planet Earth has reached its point of exhaustion, its capacity to hold things in balance is becoming harder each day. We are simply powerless to prevent more tsunamis from coming. #
