Hurricane Maria has absolutely destroyed Puerto Rico. The hurricane has left destruction and damage on the same level as both Harvey and Irma. Now, the nation is facing a humanitarian crisis. Aid to Puerto Rico has been extremely slow—the Trump administration has had little to say. Puerto Rico has faced economic turmoil over the past few years...and now they are facing physical turmoil. It is estimated that the island could be without power for well over 7 months. Another threat is the Guajataca Dam, which is on the brink of failing. Thousands of citizens have had to evacuate their homes in fear of the dam breaking. 70,000 people are in jeopardy of losing everything they have because of the dam crisis. With communications cut, it makes it extremely difficult to reach people on the island. It is estimated that 95% of the island is without power. The worst of it all would be the lack of medical aid available. Hospitals have been completely leveled by the Hurricane—health care is hard to receive.
Hurricane season has been absolutely ridiculous recently. It scares me at how much destruction can be done in a few weeks. And honestly, it is all at the fault of us. Human's contributions to climate change cannot be ignored...we are the main instigators of the problems that we currently face. Puerto Rico is suffering and we are to focused on what Donald Trump has tweeted next—but I digress. It is sad how slow we have been in sending aid to Puerto Rico. They are literally suffering and starving to death...and we have been extremely slow in sending them aid. This is an issue because...who is next? Which state or territory is next in line in regards to destruction. I only hope we are more prepared this time.
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Mexico city is in dire need of assistance. It is terrifying that on Tuesday-the same exact day another earthquake killed 10,000 people 37 years ago-Mexico City was hit with a 7.2 earthquake. Most builders and seismologists did not think that the fault that caused the earthquake would cause any worry. Now, 200 people have perished because of the lack of concern. This is a glaring concern considering that this could happen at anytime anywhere in the world. Because Mexico City was built on a lakebed, the effects of the earthquake are much more pronounced. There is no other city in the world that is of this size and built into a direct danger proximity zone of a fault. The earthquake happened nowhere near where they thought. It didn't happen in the coast nor did it happen in the Guerrero Gap, but 35 miles under the mountains. People watched in dread and terror as buildings collapsed and people were crushed under debris. Now, seismologists are not just looking at the dormant Guerrero Gap, but the entirety of all the faults.
Earthquakes are inter sting in that they are the most unpredictable--and you cannot escape them. There is no way to "evacuate" from an earthquake. The scariest thing is that they can happen at anytime. With other natural disasters such as hurricanes and tornadoes, there must be a few preconditions and prerequisites before the "disaster can form". Earthquakes can happen at anytime and with no warning signs. California is susceptible to huge earthquakes...and it is predicted that a big one will arrive soon. Mexico City is a prime example of "don't just look at the obvious". When people simply stare at the obvious and fail to take EVERYTHING into consideration, then people lose their lived due to negligence. We will stand and send aid to Mexico...but it makes me wonder when people are going to send aid to us. Dangerous Grease in Greece (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/14/world/europe/greece-oil-spill.html)9/14/2017 On Thursday, September 14th, an oil tanker sunk off the coast of Athens. The Tanker was carrying 2,500 metric tons of fuel and marine oil. Authorities claimed that the spill is contained. However, tar and oil has been seen and reported on beaches outside of the supposed containment zone. Citizens of Greece were outraged at the lack of cleanup crews trying to contain the spill. Now, three antipollution vessels have cleaned up 180 metric tons of the spilled oil. Environmentalists are calling it an environmental travesty and claims that it will have immediate and long lasting effects. It is unknown how the tanker actually sunk...and it is unknown how long it will take to recover the beaches near the accident.
Ever since BP, oil spills have been on the rise. Humans put so much money into oil drilling..you would think disasters like this wouldn't happen that often. But, it doesn't really matter to the oil companies because they face a pocket-change fine after killing millions and millions of diverse ecosystems and marine life. I was appalled at how slow authorities were at getting crews to clean up the spillage; I was angered that they did not take immediate action. Not only does the oil threaten all marine life in the area, but the tar and oil can be at the detriment to the humans living on the shores as well. If someones main job is to fish and sell, then they will have lost their job as the fish will have been contained. This disaster can force people out of work. Not only that, but the oil will not simply "disappear". Species that have inhabited those beaches for thousands of years could become extinct from this small disaster alone. Humans mess up once again. Two nuclear plants are directly in the line of fire when it comes to Hurricane Irma making landfall. Executives and owners of the plants are already preparing to shut down their nuclear reactors. If the reactors were to fail during the storm, the damage to the Atlantic ocean and the surrounding area would be unprecedented. Although one of the strongest nuclear grids in North America, it by no means can survive 185 mile per hour winds. After the Hurricane passes, the director of the plant plans to reinforce the steel and concrete bunker surrounding the reactors.
People talk an awful lot about the threat of Nuclear warfare in the world today...but what about nuclear plants failing. Chernobyl is a perfect example of what happens when nuclear reactors go haywire. If the reactors in Florida became compromised, a huge cloud of radiation would shoot into the sky and travel over the Atlantic Ocean. Also, nuclear waste would seep into the ocean and kill everything around it. Finally, it would make the areas near it completely uninhabitable. Climate change has really gone too far..humans really need to step up to the plate. |
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