Volcanic eruptions and their interpretations

The Iclandic volcanos are erupting and we are given a healthy reminder of the powers of nature. To most of us, it means that we have to accept cancelled flights and cumbersome travelling without being able to blame neither airline companies nor politicians. As long as nobody dies or suffers, I´d say that is a good thing.

To others, it has a far deeper meaning, a scary one that is linked to other ongoing events in our world. These are good times for those inclined towards conspirational thinking, and for religious people who are waiting to hear God´s voice from the outside.

Although I am definitely not conspirationally inclined myself, I have started playing with the idea that there may be some sort of connection between two God-like interpretations of the volcanic eruptions coming from geographically and culturally rather disparate circles. Here they are:

1) Rush Limbaugh, conservative commentator from the US, recently suggested in a radio program that the passing of Obama´s health care bill may have started causing the earth to open up.

2) Ayatollah Kazem Sedhigi, senior cleric from Iran, recently suggested in a Friday prayer that inappropriately clothed women may lead to inchastity and consequently to an increase in earthquakes.

It seems as though God is finally speaking with only one voice after millennia of polyphony. He is angry, and this is why:

Women in Iran have started to relax, and US citizens are getting a chance to improve their health.

Calm down, God! Maybe you should try directing your rage towards evil instead.

Fear pandemic

They tell us the swine flu outbreak in Mexico city is developing into a pandemic and even the WHO warns us that all of humanity is under threat. The threat awareness level has been put up from 5 to 6, alerting governments, health ministries and the pharmaceutical industry to be ready for the worst case scenario. Norwegian health authorities prepare themselves for more than 1 million people falling ill. People run to the pharmacies to buy face masks and flu medicines. It all sounds like a high budget Hollywood movie coming true.

I have no doubts that the virus is aggressive and obviously very contagious, and I feel deeply sorry for those who have actually been infected and even died these last weeks. But if we look at the numbers presented so far, it seems that there are in fact not that many people who have actually caught the virus: one confirmed case in one country, four in another etc, and all cases have been with mild symptoms. Except in Mexico city, were it all started. Like in the case of the bird flu, it started among poor people in close contact with animals, in this case pigs. Mexico city is the world's largest city in terms of population; it is crowded, and a great portion of the huge population lives in poverty. Health care services are far from universally good, and there are reports that early cases were actually rejected by health workers.

It seems that there are at least two lessons to be learned from what has happened so far. First of all, in our interconnected global village with its news hungry media and money hungry pharmaceutical industry, fear seems to spread a lot faster than any virus. If there is a pandemic, it is called 'fear'. Second, aggressive viruses are not a threat to wealthy countries with infrastructures, hygiene education and well-functioning health care systems. They are a threat to poor countries that lack such systems. Aggressive viruses are a health problem that interlinks with the poverty problem more than anything. It is a good thing that the WHO realizes that and has decided to do something about it. Hopefully governments, ministries etc all over the rich world also realize that none of the big modern day crises can be solved independently of the key problem underlying them all, which is poverty.