Monday, April 19, 2010

Tremors & Ash - Iceland Continues To Shake

Geologists have warned that new tremors under the volcano adds new unknowns to the ongoing eruptions. As the ash billowing from the Eyjafjallajökull appeared to lessen, powerful tremors were felt across the countryside.

Across Europe, the ash is slow moving. When you are dealing with volcanoes each sunrise reveals Nature's slow, precise, hour-by-hour progression. The skies are cloudless. As the sun rises the whitish density is thickening day-by-day and becoming a dull grey. This fine ash covering is all the way from Northern Scandinavia to the Southern French Mediterranean coast, heading across Greece, Turkey and forecast to reached the Middle East.

We have this incredibly slow moving ash building up concentration over most of Europe, and on the surface of the planet this flash in the pan fast moving society of humans are stunned. The much greater force of nature on a head to head with human society .. will probably bring change from way up there to our world down here.

It is tough for an animal that is used to doing what it wants, when it wants, and do it fast .. to be brought to a complete standstill. If the eruptions cease, maybe we can pretend we won - until the next eruption .. but what do we do if Katla erupts? What do we do if Eyjafjallajökull continues for months? I guess, we organise our lives differently.

Individual airlines and businesses will not survive long term disruption on this scale over longer periods. I imagine air travel will be organised in a different way, probably not run by companies for profit.

If you are a structural engineer you look at the weak point and find out where the bar bends or breaks. Air travel breaks at: "We are not making a profit". If we had a different reason for these services then maybe the bar would not break. If we had different values. Otherworld concepts like 'co-operation' come to mind.

In the 2010 Viking Sagas - the powerful invasion of the great warrior Eyjafjallajökul, defeated the spreading cultures of 'Life for Profit', and went on to father new communities of 'co-operation'. The Saga Writers may say: The people in the South had become so corrupt that Odin sent forth his youngest son, Eyjafjallajökul. The great Viking went forth at Odin's bidding to clear the ancient lands of the 'Profit' tribes, who had so debased the lives of his children that no one knew anymore who they could trust.

The people in the South laughed at the appearance of Odin's youngest son, Eyjafjallajökul .. although his might was great and his appearance covered all the land. Because of this arrogance Odin sent forth the great dragon Katla .. and the tribes in the South were met with guð og dreka [god and dragon] fighting side by side .. and the people for profit said: There is no hope! But the people of the heart said: Why is there no hope? We have cooperation to guide us.


This is how Sagas are written once the events unfold .. written by the societies who live through the event and adapt to the event, move with the cycle, are part of the force that alters who we are and how we live.

Some view Eyjafjallajökul as an annoyance, an inconvenience, while others see a Viking warrior in the skies bringing change - something new - the end of the dinosaurs. Is the volcanic ash to blame for our current situation? Or are we to blame, as everyone argues how to deal with this. Or is the problem the way we humans organise our lives, our society? Look at the 'only for profit' dinosaur .. it is already a fossil and only the first son, Eyjafjallajökul has crossed our borders.