Living with Uncertainty

Mount Mayon is showing signs of a possible eruption in the Philippines. Authorities say it could be days or weeks until it erupts. Or, maybe it won't erupt at all.

Even with all of our wonderful technology, vulcanologist's can't always predict what a volcano will do. Living with the unknown should be something humans are prepared for.

Mount Mayon does have a pretty active history, though. Out of 22 volcanoes in the area, it is the most active. The most violent and deadly eruption that it has had was in 1841 when it killed about 1,200 people.

Mount Mayon lies on the western side of the "Ring of Fire" in the Pacific Ocean. The ring contains 75% of the wold's entire population of active and dormant volcanoes. Earthquakes are also frequent in this region.

The "Ring of Fire" was discovered well before the theory of plate tectonics was developed. It is extremely noticeable that there is a reason why the volcanoes are there. It is an area where the plates collide with one another. Subduction occurs in this area a lot. Not only do these plates collide, but they slide up against each other. As in one may move north, while the other one moves south. Stress in the plates is a constant.

While all of this is a constant, it must also be a constant concern for those living in the areas. Preparing for an eruption could not be a simple thing. Day to day life would be unknown. Will we have a tonight? A tomorrow?

While the easy thing to say to do would be to just not live in an area that volatile, it's just not always possible. People are usually born in an area and live most of their lives in that area. Living in the shadow of a volcano would just be something accepted by the people.

In every region of the earth, there is always some sort of danger to humans. We try to control the elements, but most of the time we fail. Accepting that we are guests on this planet is probably the smartest thing to do.

Those living near oceans must deal with the reality of tsunamis, hurricanes or typhoons. People living in the mountains must deal with extreme elements of the cold during the winter time. Those that choose to live in a desert area must deal daily with lack of water and the extreme heat during the day and extreme cold at night. For every corner of the earth, we face a different challenge.

Not only do we have to deal with the climate, but the wildlife as well. Threats are just a constant in our daily lives.

Living in danger zones means to plan ahead. Having things packed that can be grabbed and taken in the blink of an eye is important. Knowing what has the most important sentimental value to you and having it readily available would also be of help in times of crisis.

Being flexible and understanding that we may have to up and run is just a part of life for so many humans on this planet. For the most part, Americans don't have that worry. We only have 10% of the earth's volcanoes. With a total of around 1,500 active volcanoes on earth, that means that the U.S. only has about 150. Of course, the largest is Yellowstone National Forest. Should that ever erupt, we would not have a chance of escaping.

Living day to day life is a blessing that we all must appreciate. Being guests on this planet is a gift. While we must worry about catastrophic events, we must also accept the fact that we can't change it all.