Monday, March 21, 2011

Be Humble and Respectful

Last Friday’s earthquake in Japan was another wake-up call. It showed us how powerful and ruinous Mother Nature can be. Historically, the "big ones" occurred many hundred years apart. But at present it seems earthquakes have become norms in our everyday lives. These days, they came and went too often. The tremors and the unstoppable Tsunami in Japan came soon after the earthquake and flood that devastated New Zealand a month ago. And remember the big one in Haiti only a couple years ago?

According to Encarta Encyclopedia, what we do to the earth, like filling up a reservoir, injecting liquid into the earth or conducting underground nuclear test, can all cause earthquakes. Therefore what we do to our good earth now may bring us deadly side effects later. What goes around does come around!

Every time I walked by a deep hole dug for a new high-rise apartment building, I often wondered how many tons of pressure the digging of this gigantic cavity had thrust upon the earth below. Whenever I saw a picture of a humongous tractor that dwarfed the people standing by it, I thought of what this powerful equipment does for us may also harm us.

Over the years, many smart people had made leaps and bounds in the science of detecting earthquake and forecasting inclement weather. But so far no one can yet predict precisely when or where the gusting wind or destructive tremor will strike. Even a well-prepared country like Japan, her advance warning of the incoming tidal waves had failed to save all her citizens. To ensure there are still livable spaces available for the next generations, we shall learn from these devastating natural disasters and be gentle and respectful to Mother Nature. We shall also be humble and think small. Last but not lest, we shall not attempt to conquer a world that is beyond our own frailty and limitation. - Ayee

No comments: