Man-Made Disasters

1X60 min. documentary, National Geographic Channel
Drilling for natural gas causes a mud volcano in Java. Urban sprawl bolsters microclimates in Atlanta that help strengthen an approaching tornado.  Miiners in Newcastle, Australia remove so much coal and water from the earth it causes the most severe earthquake in Australian history.  Can a direct link be drawn between human activity and these ‘natural disasters’?  The jury is still out.  Some geophysicists believe these are examples of man’s capacity for drastically and suddenly awakening the planet’s destructive force, others believe these conjectures are without merit.  Does our quest for power and our impulse to build mega-structures come with an unexpected price tag? Certain forward-thinking energy companies and structural engineers are assuming it does, and they’re at the vanguard of a new movement that’s finding ways to generate energy and build big without disrupting the delicate balance of forces below—and above—the earth’s crust.