An Example of Sudden Climate Change
(It wasn't the humans)
Forty three years ago, Mount Saint Helens violently erupted, sending ash plumes up to 15 MILES into the air and a moving river of 800-degree pumice, earth, and mud down into the valley below the mountain.
The sheer amount of force involved in this event is extremely hard to comprehend. Take a look at some of this video from the eruption.
I was too young to really remember the actual eruption, though trinkets filled with Mount Saint Helens ash litter my childhood memories. (A quick internet search turns up plenty of these items still today.) Therefore, my memories of Mount Saint Helens involve being on the mountain itself.
I don’t remember exactly when I first visited, I think it was some sort of school field trip. I DO remember what seemed like endless fields of giant trees strewn about like they were toothpicks:
It’s difficult to fathom something with that much force. Actually being on the grounds is extremely humbling, because even your little monkey brain understands that your meatsuit doesn’t stand a chance against the full force of Mother Nature.
As time passes, to me the story of Mount Saint Helens changes. Of course, the bomb-like devastation from 1980’s massive eruption is still the backdrop of the story — the path of the destruction is literally carved into the mountainside. But every time I visit (about every 5 years or so), I’m amazed by how much more ALIVE everything looks. Slowly but surely, nature is reclaiming its land. Check out these photos taken by my awesome friend Carrie during my last trip:
It’s easy to imagine a time (long after I’m gone) that the impact of the eruption is hidden under a thriving green landscape. It’s taken decades, but this once-unimaginable state of affairs is starting to look inevitable.
This gives me hope that one day our society can heal itself the way that Mount Saint Helens is starting to do.
Edit: There’s some amazing slideshow-type before/after pictures here:
I want to apologize to anyone related to the maan I am about to reference, I am not laughing at his death, just with the eruption, the anniversary of the dumbest news cast of all time, I thought I'd tell a stupid story about a couple of dumb kids and Mt Saint Helens.
I was born in the late 60s and grew up in the SF Bay Area and remember watching the news as they announced the eruption and then, the anchor said, gravely, and with a slight pause after, "Harry Truman had not left the mountain, and is presumed dead." And then the news carried on to something else.
And my brother and looked at each other and we were like WTF, the president is still alive and lived on the mountain? What? But, it was pre-internet, so we didn't find out until much later there was a local named Harry Truman who refused to leave the area and he died in the eruption.
So fast forward through the next 37 years, and it became a running joke for us. My mom would burn a casserole, we'd look at it and say, "Harry Truman, presumed dead". We'd be watching one of his kids trying to learn to ride a bike, crash, and I'd say, "Harry Truman, presumed dead". It evolved into a text joke, after a natural disaster occurred, we would text each other with a story link, and then the quote, "Harry Truman, presumed dead." And the smaller and more ridiculous but overly hyphed the accident, the better. I think my favorite was when Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston broke up and he sent me a link and stated, "Their breakup was too much for him, Harry Truman, presumed dead."
Then, my brother became a covid idiot and we don't talk or text anymore. The loss of our relationship may be the last straw for Harry Truman. We shall see, but for now, Harry Truman, presumed dead.
Yes, and expert opinion decreed it would be a horrid wasteland for generations.
Nature has indeed refuted the experts, and that is a lesson to take to heart.