Archive for September 7th, 2008
Hurricane Season
First there was Gustav, then Hanna and now Ike. To be glib, they sound like a sixties doo wop band, unfortunately they are not. These are hurricanes, some of the worst to hit the region or so we keep saying. Every year we talk about the worst hurricanes, how they get more and more powerful, the havoc they wreak greater than the last. Have we wondered why the hurricanes are getting worse, because this does not seem like an accident of nature. Or if it is, what might be causing this “accident”.
Scientists have been tracking weather phenomenon for centuries, from all evidence, it would appear that the world’s weather patterns are changing, as a result of man’s incursions on the environment. Seems Mother Nature isn’t as forgiving as well all hoped. And that’s the rub.
Poorer nations will always pay the price for the ambitions of the more powerful. And so, while Florida battens down, Haiti is still suffering. The Turks and Caicos are reeling, most of the houses on Grand Turk damaged. Cuba, still being pounded as I write this. We in Trinidad are lucky, we’ve not been hit by a major hurricane, but we too feel the effects. The flooding, the high winds and trees falling down, blocked roads, loss of power and water. But still, we don’t suffer as our neighbours do.
So tonight, as we all say thanks to the Universe that we are okay in Trinidad, spare a thought to our Caribbean brothers and sisters who are trying to pick up their lives after the onslaught of the hurricanes. The season still has several months to run, and we are all still at risks so be prepared for anything. And remember too, our responsibility to the environment or else the environment might remind us in a big way.
