The power of nature

By Don C. Brunell

As we try to put climate change in perspective, it is discouraging to hear some people blame every natural catastrophe on human activity. Such tactics are dishonest and do a disservice to well-meaning people on all sides of the issue.

The Green Movement continues to have many positive impacts. People are saving energy, reducing their waste, and changing their buying habits. They recognize that it is in their self-interest to do what they can to protect the planet. As a result, new technologies are evolving every day, and Washington is a hub for renewable technology and alternative energy equipment production.

But sometimes nature is simply overpowering, and activists tarnish their credibility when they blame every natural disaster on the work of people. The fact is, the earth has been, and always will be, a volatile and sometimes violent place.

For example, Yellowstone National Park is actually a super volcano 750 times larger than Mt. St. Helens. It erupted more than half a million years ago, spewing out 8,000 times more ash than the 1980 Mt. St. Helens blast.

On August 17, 1959, a 7.3 earthquake, the largest in Montana's recorded history, jolted the area just north of Yellowstone. The main tremor triggered a major landslide in the Madison River Canyon about 20 miles northwest of Yellowstone, sending some 80 million tons of rock roaring down the south canyon wall, blocking the river and killing 26 people in the Rock Creek Campground. Today, "Earthquake Lake" reminds people of nature's power, and there was nothing humans could have done to prevent it.

In November 2006, western Washington was deluged with 19 inches of rain. It rained particularly hard in Mt. Rainier National Park, and the resulting flooding wiped out many roads, bridges and trails in a place where human activity is minimal.

Then last December, nearly 20 inches of rain in 48 hours hit some higher elevations of rural Lewis County. The torrential rains caused massive flooding from Centralia to Aberdeen blocking many highways south and west of the state capital. Interstate 5 through Centralia and Chehalis was blocked for four days.

Nothing could stop or even control the wall of water, mud and debris cascading down the mountain inundating southwestern Washington. The Corps of Engineers says the storm was a 500-year event.

But now, some people are trying to blame the flooding on clear cutting in the upper Chehalis River. They want the Legislature and governor to change forest practices laws to curtail some logging. It is as if the proponents were waiting for that event to launch their crusade.

Washington already has one of the best forest practices acts anywhere in the world. No law or government edict can thwart the consequences of a 500-year event. Hillsides, whether logged or not, will slide just as the Montana mountain did in the 1959 earthquake. Sometimes, catastrophic events happen, and there is little we can do to prevent them because nature's power is beyond our control.

To gain some perspective, people should visit a natural history museum to see the extraordinary climate changes the earth has experienced naturally. Earth was once a tropical jungle dominated by dinosaurs, but over time, the climate cooled. Two million years ago, the "Great Ice Age" began, covering as much as 30 percent of the planet in ice. Then, global warming began 18,000 years ago, and the glaciers gradually receded. Experts say the planet will ultimately experience another Ice Age, as the planet cools again.

The point is, our world is continually changing and catastrophic natural events will happen. Does that mean we throw up our hands and surrender to the natural forces?

Of course not. It means we put things in perspective, focus on efforts that will improve our environment, and stop pointing the finger of blame just to promote a cause.

Don C. Brunell is president of the Association of Washington Business and may be reached at 360-943-1600 or donb@awb.org