It's clever to associate Muslim mullahs (bad and irrational, in the view of this columnist) with crazy environmentalists. Not sure which environmentalists have been blaming humankind for the tsunami, but there are a few points worth pondering in this piece. However, the author is overcomplicating things. "Floodplain management" is the technical term for trying to keep as many people as possible out of the way of sudden surges of water and it's a highly rational response and prevention strategy that would save lives and money in lots of places -- at least those that can afford it. The tsunami is a horror; but many flood-caused disasters at home are preventable tragedies.
"In the wake of the killer tsunami in East Asia, a Muslim mullah in Indonesia has been quoted as claiming that the giant waves were Allah's vengeance on the infidel Christians. That seems pretty crazy. After all, most victims were non-Christian.
But is it any crazier than the notion, propagated by a few environmentalists in recent weeks, that the devastation was nature's vengeance on modern man for spewing too many hydrocarbons into the air?"
http://www.detnews.com/2005/editorial/0501/12/A09-57511.htm
Posted by Dave at January 13, 2005 08:55 AM