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There are two extremely well-done documentaries running on Netflix right now, one about a 2015 devastating earthquake in Nepal that wiped out an entire village and killed dozens of Mr. Everest climbers, and the other about an equally calamitous 2019 volcanic eruption in New Zealand. Both events killed or wounded many people, and were devastating—but neither event was caused by mankind, its reliance on fossil fuels, or its insistence on eating meat.
Don’t tell this to John Kerry, Greta Thunberg, or Al Gore though, because it doesn’t fit their narrative.
The new Netflix documentary "The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari" chronicles the former student's harrowing story of survival that began Dec. 9, 2019, while sightseeing in New Zealand. #BurnSurvivor #Netflix https://t.co/ZQKhJwTznC
— Phoenix Society (@PSburnsurvivors) January 19, 2023
The truth is, despite the incredible technological advances made in our lifetimes alone, and the total dominance of our species on the planet, our powers still pale in comparison to nature’s. It was only 12,000 years ago—when humans were already inhabiting the earth—that the planet was covered in massive glaciers. Do we have the hubris to suggest that it was us that caused their melting, likely resulting in the flood stories like Noah’s Ark that exist in virtually every major religion? I think not.
Climate alarmists and opportunistic politicians want you to think that we control the climate, that we control nature, and that if you just change your lifestyle—stop eating burgers, stop driving your car—we can change the course of the universe. Listen, while I’m all for finding sustainable, renewable energy, the truth is we don’t have it yet—and kneecapping our economies and our people is not the answer when the awesome power of the cosmos is so much bigger than us.
Millions of years ago, volcanoes wiped out 95 percent of life on the planet—was that our fault? It could happen tomorrow, and nothing about you or your lifestyle could change that. An asteroid 66 million years ago caused massive tsunamis and ended the dinosaur dynasty—is your driving the kids to school in a minivan to blame?
But back to the documentaries, which I highly recommend if you’re into grim stuff (which inexplicably, I am). The first, “Aftershock: Everest and the Nepal Earthquake,” details the awesome power of a series of earthquakes that struck Nepal in 2015 which killed an estimated 9,000 people and left climbers stranded on the world’s tallest mountain, Mt. Everest, as they were left cut off from the world and almost descended into madness. It reminded me of the seminal William Golding novel, Lord of the Flies, where a group of schoolboys abandoned on an island after a plane crash were quickly reduced to savagery. Luckily that didn’t happen here… but it almost did.
The second, “The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari,” delves into the awful experience of New Zealand tourists in 2019 who just wanted to get a selfie but were instead confronted with a volcanic eruption that killed 22 people and severely burned several of the unfortunate interviewees. It was sad and difficult, but it also shows us the awe-inspiring power of nature and our total inability to control it.
I lived through the 1994 Northridge earthquake, and let me tell you, in a moment like that you realize that we are here only by the grace of God and that the Universe, Gaia, Earth—whatever you want to call it—can wipe us out in a nanosecond should it choose to do so. I lived in a high-rise at the time, and I will never forget looking over the massive city of Los Angeles—completely darkened except for the occasional flash-green explosion of a transformer, the building still shaking back and forth—and realizing that we are at the mercy not of government, nor of man, but of nature.
Jan 17, 1994 Northridge Earthquake. 29 years ago. 57 lives lost.
We remember it well. Are we prepared for the next one? pic.twitter.com/Xgak9EjCus
— SFV Scanner (@SfvScanner) January 17, 2023
Both series are extremely compelling and show man’s indomitable will. But they also inadvertently show something else—that there’s a more powerful force in the universe than us. Nature has been perpetually changing for the entire four-billion-year history of our planet—sometimes to devastating effect—but I believe that human ingenuity and technology will continue to find a way for us to thrive.
Call it Nature, call it God, call it the Universe. Just don’t call it something John Kerry, Al Gore, or Greta Thunberg can conquer. We are at the mercy of these forces, and while I think it’s smart to try to use technology and science to do our best to keep ahead of them, it’s the ultimate conceit to think that we are in total command.
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