The Force of Nature
Swarms of killer bees, lava shooting out of city drains,
skyscrapers enveloped in flames, tornados ripping up houses, viruses escaping
from laboratories, meteors on collision paths with earth, computers running
amok and post nuclear devastation, are common themes in block buster Hollywood films.
Their popularity testifies to a deep seated fear that the
fragility of human society cannot survive the might of nature. It is a modern
day homage to all-powerful natural forces that once inspired societies to
create pantheons of gods that needed appeasement, and from whom redemption
could be granted.
Giant sea monsters featured prominently in these ancient
beliefs, such as Falak in a Thousand and one Nights, the Mesopotamian Tiamat, the
Greek Hydra, the Native American Unk Cekula, and the Leviathan mentioned in the
Old Testament.
Juracán controlled the weather, particularly hurricanes for
Caribbean people. Isfet and
Ma'at maintained the balance between chaos and harmony for Ancient Egyptians,
just as the twins, Angra Mainyu and Spenta Mainyu, did for ancient Zorastrians.
All religions practiced today give a place of prominence to
the power of nature. God is shown to work through nature, whether with gifts for
sustenance, or sending fire and brimstone, massive floods or earthquakes to
vanquish civilizations.
Disaster movies were very much a product of the 70s. It was an
era of inventive gadgets, including personal computers, robots, video games,
mobile phones, cassette and VCR recorders, but also of scientific developments that
dared to challenge nature, such as in vitro fertilization, facelifts,
supersonic air travel, space probes to distant planets, and genetic
engineering.
Urban life to a great extent, creates the impression of
nature tamed. Groomed parks and gardens replace jungles and savannas,
architectural design protects people from the elements, supermarkets replace the
hunter gatherer.
Yet human society is completely dependent on nature. Nature
provides the raw materials for the construction of cities, for clothing, for
weaponry, utensils and medicines. Energy comes from fossil fuels, hydro power,
wind or the sun. The geography of our surroundings - mountains, deserts, forests, plains or
coastal areas - dictates our lifestyles, clothing, food and livelihood.
Forests are the source for most medicines, although only
5–15% out of the existing 250,000 plant species have been studied by
pharmacologists, while each year more than 30 million acres of tropical forests
are cleared. Out of the estimated 10 million animal and marine species, many
have provided life-saving drugs, but on average, one cure is discovered from
every 20,000 species. Climatologists ring alarm bells as humans erode these
resources.
David Attenborough is a one man army who, for eight decades,
has made meticulously researched documentaries, hoping the millions who have seen them, will
understand the wonders of nature and be inspired to preserve them.
Behind the scenes are scientists who are determined to bend nature
for human benefit, and economic, and sometimes political, gain. Using nuclear
fission to create deadly weapons is probably the most notorious, but there is
also the reprogramming of cells to defy aging, genetic engineering of plants
and animals, and human cloning. Cloud seeding, which involves shooting salt, silver
iodide or titanium dioxide into clouds to force rainfall, has been used in many
countries. It has been held responsible for flooding and, more importantly, for
taking away rain meant for other countries.
Nikolai Tesla, known for a dizzying array of inventions in
use today, from the radio and alternating current to remote controlled boats
and wireless transmission of electricity, believed he could achieve the mastery
of man over nature, for “human welfare and service to Mother Nature”. Most of
his ideas for inventions were seized upon his death, by the American
government, and remain a well-guarded secret. Understandable in the light of
his words: “Man could alter the size of this planet, control its seasons, and
guide it along with any path he might choose through the depths of the
Universe. He could make planets collide and produce his suns and stars, his
heat and light. He could originate and develop life in all its infinite forms.”
Regardless of such wild claims, in reality humans are more
shaped by nature than they are able to exert control over it. Docile rivers
turn into raging torrents, making short work of human habitation, and even of massive
dams erected to control its waters. Tectonic plates move ever so slightly and
roads, bridges and skyscrapers crumble in seconds.
The earth is 4.6 billion years old and has recovered from
five near extinctions. Humans have been on earth less than .01 percent of
Earth’s timeline, during which time they have polluted and depleted resources
essential for their survival. While earth will morph and survive, humans would
have destroyed their own ability to live on Earth.
Durriya Kazi
Karachi
October 8, 2022
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