Environment
Some people believe that the environment is having its revenge on us. Fundamentalist Christians and Muslims say that God is punishing us (and usually for the wrong reasons, ignoring the real lessons behind these tragedies). Last month was the one year anniversary of the earthquake in northern Pakistan and India. The effect of earthquake, particularly in Pakistan, was devastating. Almost 100,000 people were killed and millions became refugees in an area that already has the largest refugee population in the world. After billions of dollars, the necessary reconstruction is nowhere near complete and at this rate will take decades to finish. Like Katrina, human incompetence exacerbated the damage. It probably didn’t make the survivors feel any better to see planes drop off plentiful supplies for the US military in Afghanistan. Unlike Katrina, this was not a phenomenon which could be linked to climate change.
Towards the end of the summer there was a freakish occurrence of heavy flooding in Sindh in a period of a few days, a region which on average receives a few inches of rain a year. Parts of Hyderabad were so drenched that it formed ponds along the road that can still be seen, no doubt due to the lack of a drainage system. Some people’s homes were ruined. This of course breeds more mosquitoes, and there has recently been an outbreak of dengue fever. It’s bad enough there is malaria to worry about. The government says it’s now under control. I hope.
