human Response to Nature

In 2010 more than a quarter million people died at the hands of Mother Nature.  Earthquakes, floods, heat waves, blizzards and volcanoes took their toll all over the world in 2010.  If the earth was charging us for mistreating it we paid through the nose in 2010; damages came to around $222 billion.  Human beings are so intrinsically connected to nature yet we repeatedly mistreat the planet.  Not only do we mistreat the planet causing global warming and climate change but we don’t consider what the earth is capable of unleashing on us when we design.  Many of the lives lost to natural disasters in 2010 could have been saved if homes and buildings were constructed in a way that could withstand wind, water and seismic activity.  In tornado alley they design homes to withstand extreme winds; in San Francisco they design building to withstand major seismic activity.  Now that major natural disasters are occurring in some places where they haven’t in 100’s of years we should take these things into consideration when we design.   

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40739667/ns/us_news-2010_year_in_review/