It hit me the other day regarding floods, droughts, and other mishaps. Why are they typically called “natural disasters”? Is that really a misnomer? Why do I think that? Allow me to explain.
To me, it is not natural if the cause is us, or specifically induced by our behavior. We would be responsible.
For example, excess carbon emission builds up in the earth atmosphere creating a greenhouse effect. Consequently, heat from the sun is trapped on the earth surface resulting record floods, droughts, and wildfires. That’s on us.
Moreover, the disaster part applies only because human activities were disrupted, life lost, property destroyed. In a uninhabited desert or jungle, they would be phenomena, like the water cycle. No disaster. Neither will anyone blink an eye.
So if we caused the “disasters” and blamed them on nature, that sounds a bit hypocrite to me. Don’t we as co-habitants on this planet have responsibility to live with nature peacefully?
What could be a ‘win-win’ solution toward our peaceful coexistence?
Running with Buddha 