Society_and_Natural_Disasters

Natural disasters are a reoccurring problem in the United States, but in the past fifty years there has been a dramatic increase. Whether it is a hurricane smashing the coastline or a tornado tearing through a town, these natural disasters are devastating to people’s lives. These natural disasters are something that people have to experience and deal with, but the main problem is that these disasters are happening more often and with greater force. In the past fifty years the amount of serious natural disasters has almost doubled. The United States has seen about a forty percent increase in the past fifty years (Low, 2009). The question that arises is how much of a role does society play in these increases' The magnitude and frequency of natural disasters has increased drastically over the last fifty years due to global warming, over development in hazardous areas, and exploitation of natural resources, all of which are human factors. Natural disasters have increased both in size and in repetitions, one main reason for this is global warming. Some gases can be released naturally through animals, plants, waste, etc. but the biggest contributor would be humans. Many gases that are lethal to the environment are being released in massive amounts, such as carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is one of the biggest problems that society faces in today’s world. Carbon dioxide comes from various sources, the worst sources being emissions from vehicles and factories (Mckibben, p.60, 2009). The best way to remove this problem would be to stop the exposure of CO2. In order to properly fix this problem we would have to cut CO2 emissions by almost 80 percent (Mckibben, p.50, 2006). In figure 1 the emissions of greenhouse gases from the United States is alarming. If this problem isn’t fixed, the predictions that are oncoming are overwhelming. Tomas Swetnam, a scientist from the University of Arizona, and his global research team predict that at the rate that society is releasing CO2 and cutting down forestry the planet may see an increase of 3 to 6 degrees Fahrenheit (Low, 2009). In the past few years the temperature has already increased by 1 degree Fahrenheit (Low, 2009). If the planet does see an increase of 3 to 6 degrees it is feared that an irreversible cycle would be started that would have huge impacts on our planet(s). Due to the increase in temperature and the increase of CO2 emissions, some natural disasters will become more frequent and more lethal. One key example is forest fires. With the increase in temperatures and continuous foresting projects trees are becoming more vulnerable to fires. When trees burn they release carbon dioxide into the air which creates a warmer atmosphere and adds to the greenhouse effect. Since the temperature is warmer the plant life within the forest is dry. This leads to the fires being more ferocious and longer lasting (Goodman, Hearst Seattle Media, 2007). The ozone layer protects us from the Suns ultraviolet rays and if gone would cause an increase of UV ray’s that would reach the planet. With this rise in climate and increase in greenhouse gases the ozone layer is being diminished (Lens, HubPages, 2009). Figure 2 illustrates this with the ozone layer and the hole that has been created due to global warming. With this depletion it is estimated that the Southern hemisphere will see a 20% increase of ultraviolet rays reaching the Earth. Because of this increase there will be a larger hole in the ozone layer; this will lead to the increase of natural disasters such as fires, tornadoes, massive lightning storms, intense ultraviolet rays, avalanches, and tsunamis (Lens, HubPages, 2009). This shows that with the increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the rise in temperature, and the depletion of the ozone layer, natural disasters are occurring more often and with greater magnitude. There are more explanations for this increase, such as humans putting themselves in harms way. Figure 1: - This image shows the distribution of various greenhouse gases that are being emitted into our atmosphere. (Low, 2009) Figure 2: - This image is a computer generated image of the Ozone layer. The various brighter coloured spots are all healthy and strong. But the large dark blue spot is the massive hole that has been created by greenhouse gases and increasing temperature from global warming. (HubPages, 2009) Natural disasters have been on the rise in the past fifty years, but it is not only Mother Nature who is changing, but humans as well. In recent times the population of the United States has been steadily increasing. It is the third largest population in the world sitting at a population 307, 212, 123 people (USGS, 2008). See figure 3 for the top ten most populated countries by mid-year 2008. Due to such a large population and constant increase, the industrial development has also accelerated. This leads to the second cause of the increase in natural disasters, which would be the increase in population. Since there is such an increase in the population more houses are going to be needed which leads to more development. In a country like the united states development is a large part of there economy due to its large population. With such a large country, development had to happen almost everywhere, even in areas that were known to be more prone to natural disasters. Although these areas that are being developed are more susceptible to natural disasters, governments believe that they are able to help solve this problem by man made inventions such as levee systems and dams. Most areas that are being developed are known for flooding due to being below the sea level and heavy rain fall. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) floods are the most common natural disaster to affect Americans except for fires (Rogers, 2009). Floods were calculated to be a factor in 90 percent of all natural disasters (Rogers, 2009). With these known hazards, governments still develop and build dams, levees, and drainage systems to divert any possible flooding. Throughout time it is evident that these are not always the solution. Two major examples of these would be the Great Flood of 1993 in Mississippi and Hurricane Katrina hitting New Orleans in 2005 (Hurricane Katrina, 2009). Both of these disasters had some natural problems and man made problems. The Great Flood of 1993 was caused by a series of waterfalls. During the 1992 autumn there was heavy rainfall which increased the level of soil moisture and water levels in the basins. The 1992-1993 winter brought lots of snowfall which in turn melted to increase the water levels even more. Finally during the spring there was again persistent rainfall. During 1993 from April 1st to August 31st it was recorded that about 1, 200 millimeters had hit the area (USGS, 2008). The actually flooding began during April and continued on throughout the year until October. This area was known for flooding because of its low-lying location near the Missouri and Mississippi river(s). The basins and levees were unable to handle the rise in water level which led to the flood. Figures 4 and 5 show how much the water levels raised during the flood. A second case study of a city located in a flood plain would be New Orleans and when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. Hurricane Katrina had been making its way across the United States and eventually landing over New Orleans, it had moved inward on to land. With all the rain and flooding the levee systems failed catastrophically, almost 80% of the city was either under water or somewhat flooded (Hurricane Katrina, 2009). Both of these incidents were caused by nature and man, all leading to costly consequences in loss of human life, and to the economy. It has not just been Mother Nature pouring on these natural disasters in the past fifty years. It has also been that the population of the United States is growing rapidly and developing in flood prone areas. These factors of population growth and vulnerability have been major in the increase of natural disasters in the past fifty years. Along with humans putting one another into dangerous situations, yet again it is humans defacing the planet. Figure 3: - This graph shows the top ten most populated countries in the world. The United States is the third most populated country.  Figure 4: Figure 5: - (LEFT) This is a satellite image of the Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois rivers after the flooding when the waters were at normal level in 2002. (Rogers, 2009) - (RIGHT) This is a satellite image of the Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois rivers during the floods of 1993. (Rogers, 2009) Another reason why natural disasters have been rising over the past fifty years is because of humans exploiting natural resources for their benefit. Almost all products in today’s world either use something from nature or were based on a natural resource. This is a problem because the planet is unable to sustain everything being done to it and is beginning to run low on some resources, a change must be made. A natural disaster occurs when there is a disruption in the balance of nature. Therefore, if humans constantly are taking from the environment without sustainable development, how else is the planet going to react. When towns are developed, forests are cut down. Trees are essential to human life, as they release oxygen and take the carbon dioxide out of the air. If trees are cut down without being replaced then the air quality gets even worse than it already is in the United States (Fitzmaurice, 2004). Another exploitation of a natural resource is over irrigation. Societies are always developing, governments need land, and therefore they may create dams to divert or control waterways in order to use the land. Some areas in the United States where this is becoming problematic are found below sea level and are more prone to being victims of flooding and heavy rainfall. By tampering with how the water moves floods are almost imminent. Another way that water is being exploited and tampered with would be the balance between fresh water and salt water. In the ocean there is a current that depends on the balance between fresh and salt water. If this balance is to change, the current will also be changed, leading to catastrophic weather events (Capitalism, 2009). These balances is being affected due to humans removing fresh water from small reserves and to climate change melting the glaciers in the Arctic, draining fresh water into the ocean which in turn is throwing off the balance between fresh and salt water(s). Figures 6 and 7 illustrate what areas will be affected if polar ice should melt. Another problem would be the exploitation and movement of non renewable resources. Minerals and oil are constantly being taken out of the environment which can not be replaced. Also with the removal of oil, there is nothing to replace what is being taken out. Both of these exercises have drilling or mining involved. To obtain these resources there is a process of either drilling or mining which can hurt the environment (Lovett, 2007). In some cases if the tectonic plates are disturbed due to drilling or mining earthquakes and landslides are likely possibilities (Drift, 2008). These examples show that when humans exploit natural resources it can have a very negative effect of the environment and can lead to natural disasters. Figure 6: - The red line show where the ice caps would reach to in 1979. The white is an image of where ice caps sat in 2007. (Capitalism, 2009)  Figure 7: - This is an image of the amount of ice melted away from Greenland. In 1992 it hit an all time high but was beaten in 2002. (Capitalism, 2009) The magnitude and frequency of natural disasters have increased drastically over the last fifty years due human factors like global warming, exploitation of natural resources, population growth and vulnerability. A natural disaster is a disruption in the balance of nature, with these factors natural disasters are imminent. In the past fifty years the United States has experienced some devastating natural disasters, all of which can be traced back to these human factors. In order to fix the problem of natural disasters happening more often with more devastating damage humans have to make changes. To help prevent global warming CO2 emissions have to be cut down by a drastic amount. Natural resources must be more valued and better taken care of. Society also has to control the population growth, and people have to stop being put into harms way by developing on known problematic areas. In order to stop these natural disasters, humans must help the planet in staying healthy and well kept. By doing this, humans will be helping themselves. Bibliography Capitalism and Exploitation of Natural Resources: Some Thoughts. (2009, November 20). Progress & Struggle. Retrieved December 8, 2009, from http://www.pragoti.org/node/3700 Drift, J. (n.d.). Visualizing a Safer Planet. Natural Hazards. 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