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Nature's Extremes

Learning to live with them

DAN RATHER AND ELLIOT KIRSCHNER DEC 27 Nature, by its very nature, is unpredictable. This immutable truth has always shaped the tenuous relationship between our species and our environment. We are part of nature and thus are vulnerable to its capriciousness and extremes — droughts, floods, storms, diseases, and attacks from wild beasts. While our modern way of life means most of us are protected from the wild beast part, for all of our technology and science, the other elements of nature remain very much present.  And, let us not dodge the fact that our actions are making many natural extremes worse through climate change.  Winter is a time when the dangers of nature are readily on the mind. We have just witnessed brutal and deadly storms sweep the nation, especially in Western New York. It takes a lot to overwhelm a place like Buffalo. Fierce winter storms are to Buffalo and surrounding areas what hurricanes are to Florida, Texas, and the Gulf Coast: expected. People there are accustomed to extreme winter weather but now are dealing with a blizzard of historic proportions and the tragedy of dozens of deaths and mass dislocation. More snow has arrived, and our thoughts are with those who are suffering. Meanwhile, in the West, the prayers are for more precipitation. The region's years-long drought has led to longer summer fire seasons and fights over how to share dwindling resources like the once mighty Colorado River. A life-giving force to several states, it is now shrinking at a rapid rate, putting agriculture and drinking water for millions of people at risk, not to mention causing widespread damage to ecosystems.  The disruptions of nature can have cascading effects in the short term, too. This holiday week has seen thousands of flight cancellations. These invariably result from a mixture of weather and human fallibility. We try to build systems that anticipate disarray, but sometimes nature’s interference is too severe to overcome, and sometimes we have been too limited in our thinking to anticipate all that could go wrong. Often it is a combination of both.  Just because we don’t want to think about nature’s destructiveness doesn’t make it go away.  Take the deadly COVID pandemic, which has disrupted life around the planet for years. Even as we crave a return to normalcy, the virus rages, still sending people to hospitals and premature deaths. In China, where they bought time with draconian measures, the lack of preparation for what would happen after the lockdowns — like vaccinating the elderly and stockpiling medicines — is leading to a humanitarian disaster. We don’t know how bad it is, because China is not forthcoming. Mass deaths and disease could add more fuel to the social unrest rising in that nation. Back in this country, the politicization around COVID vaccines has metastasized into greater vaccine hesitancy, especially among those who identify as Republican. The Washington Post just ran a disturbing article on the rise in cases of measles and chickenpox as more parents choose not to vaccinate their children. What makes this trend particularly heartbreaking is that vaccines are among humankind’s most successful tools for mitigating nature’s attacks on our health and longevity.  In vaccines, however, we can also find an example of a hopeful path forward. Vaccines use our own immune system by marshaling our natural defenses. This makes them just as much a part of nature as the viruses they protect against. And now, in one of the greatest breakthroughs in our fight against cancer, scientists and doctors are finding ways to harness our own immune systems there as well. We should not think of nature as good or bad. It both gives life and takes it. We can, however, learn from nature to protect ourselves and our planet. We can find ways to deploy the tools of nature to grow crops more efficiently, to protect our water supplies, and to produce energy more cleanly.  We can also find in nature important lessons in humility and a reminder that for all our vaunted wisdom and power to control our environments, we ultimately have our limits. We cannot only build walls, real or symbolic, to keep the ravages of nature at bay. We must build bridges, with each other and with our greater connections with the natural world. In social relationships we can find resilience. We can check in on each other and offer assistance. And by living in greater harmony with nature, we can build a more sustainable and equitable future.  Right now, the effort must be on helping those contending with the dangers nature is throwing at us. But we can also work to understand nature better, through investments in scientific research. And we can find ways to incorporate a healthy respect for nature into our policies at the local, national, and global levels.  Since we are part of nature, there is no other choice. Note: If you are not already a member of the Steady community, please consider subscribing. And we always appreciate you sharing our content with others and leaving your thoughts in the comments. Upgrade to paid Leave a comment Share Original.