volcano!!!

Well after several days of peace and tranquillity with the population able to hear bee’s buzzing and birds singing, we are back to the sound of engines crossing the sky to far flung destinations or France.

If you have been in a cave for the last week or so then you wouldn’t know about the Icelandic volcano that has erupted, spewing out enough ash to cover the North Atlantic and Western Europe

The news has been covered in the usually way of saying ‘CHAOS DESCENDS ON BRITAIN’ like our lives were drastically changed and people were running down the streets screaming because of not being able to cope.

Of course some people had the problem of being stuck abroad wanting to come home, they may have complained; but who wouldn’t like extra days of holiday even if it is on uncomfortably airport chairs!

News channels also had the extra problem of not being able to pronounce the Volcano’s name thus it just became the Icelandic Volcano (last time scientists check they was more then one volcano on Iceland) and not Eyjafjallajokull.

What is more interesting about this whole episode is the amount of environmental discussion the volcano has produced.

One point is that, I bet there are scientists somewhere analysing the data collected during those days of grounded planes to do with temperature, CO2 levels and cloud cover; hopefully they will come up with the same results those scientist that did the same thing in America when planes were grounded after 9/11 - results that state. Planes really do add to the climate change issue.

- It’s also good to know that those climate sceptics who believed volcanic eruptions cause more CO2 were proved wrong by Eyjafjallajokull’s activities.

It can also be said that the issue of Britain becoming sustainable and living on home grown crops was raised. Not only were holiday makers disrupted but so was crops like radish and pineapples; stuff with modern technology can be grown here in the UK anyways. Usually 90,000 tons of fruit and veg arrive at Heathrow per year, so much that many of these tons just get thrown away due to rotten. How good would it be to go back to an age where gardens are used as a food source, instead of being full of fanciful plants?

Transport systems have also had a boost; many stranded people are now taking train and boat to reach the UK. Imagine if due to this there is a surge in ‘taking it slow’ travel to Europe at least; after all they is a quote that goes along the lines of ‘it’s the travelling that makes a destination more pleasant’

Maybe the most important aspect is that the disruption adds to the campaign against a third runway at Heathrow. Since Heathrow re-opened I have remembered how loud planes are. For example when I first moved to Twickenham I would wake up whenever a plane was flying low thinking; Jesus it’s going to crash – I got used to the noise and have the option to go back to my home town if I want to hear nature, however many who have been born and breed here, for the first time ever, know what its like to have peace and quiet. There is even a movement to have a ‘plane free day’ once a year just for this factor. http://ow.ly/1B7uL

Of course flight companies say this will cost the economy billions, but hey I’m sure billions of people will be able to cope with that fact for one day.

Now, however we are back to normal – press have moved on to talk about Girls Aloud and flight companies are raking in the money; it would of been good in my mind if Eyjafjallajokull kept on producing ash until real chaos did descend and the newly elect Prime Minister would have to establish sustainability initiatives but alas this time the volcano decide to calm down before a Hollywood produce thought it would make a great movie.

Simon.Howlett