"In former times natural sciences were a means to avert natural catastrophes. Today to make use of them." (Jeannine Luczak)

In what way is man at the mercy of the elements? How can man protect himself from the elements?

                                                                                                   Hermann Hausmann - 21.02.2019 @ 21:45

The Fight against the Force of Nature

by Catarina Becker, Lilly Paulmann and Yasmin Ben Touhami, HPS Buxtehude/Germany

As we know human have a tendency to rather harming the planet than to do any good, however, we still found our ways to use the beneficial parts of nature. Soon human found ways to use nature for different purposes   -   as remedy, as a safe place, as livelihood and of course as a home. However, why do we feel so connected to nature? Why do we feel the safety that comes with nature?

This question already gave scientists a lot to think. They concluded that different factors define our wellbeing in nature. As for this, colours, sounds and scents can cause pleasant feelings, which can even have healing effects on our bodies. Therefore, let`s take a look at the relaxation factor   -   the “factor of necessity”:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Nature#/media/File:Aion_mosaic_Glyptothek_Munich_W504.jpg

Everybody knows the feeling of sitting at school or work and just wishing to be somewhere else. The beach, the forest and maybe a blue lake, everything would be better than a stuffy classroom or a crowded office. That is how the factor of necessity works. Looking for the desirable things in nature and feeling relaxed right away.  This feeling of relaxation is especially strong when you have an emotional bond to nature, as if you had taken a walk in a forest with your friends or spent a day at the lake with your family. One thing is for sure:  nature has an enormous relaxation factor and as for this, we should put all whole power into saving it.

Probably everyone has already seen the pictures of the consequences of natural disasters in the news or even experienced them themselves. Some often wonder if there is a way in which humans can protect themselves from floods, earthquakes or storms or if this is even possible.

Technology has improved a lot in recent years, but it is still not possible to warn about an earthquake, for example. A warning can only be given when the earthquake has already started and the seismograph has recorded the so-called primary waves. In contrast, the early warning of tsunamis is already partially possible today, but the seismic waves of the seaquake must be registered beforehand. People in the affected areas are already getting instructions on how to behave. In addition, work is already being done to make new technologies better, for example to build houses more stable.

However, we shouldn’t forget the other side. Not only does nature influence humans but humans also influence nature. Because, aren’t we, the human species, a natural force? The most dangerous life on planet earth? And nobody is safe among us.

It is clear that the cohabitation between humans and nature cannot rest as long as humans grow wider in minds and place. And flora and fauna are not supposed to stop us. Regardless, this kind of thinking caused problems in the past, which may forge the future. As an example, take the extinction of species. Daily approximately 130 species die which manifests considerable problems in the food chain, which influences humans again.

Moreover, Maja Lunde portrays this problem in the novel “The History of the Bees”. It shows the importance of bees from three perspectives.

The past where the significance of these animals is gaining more importance. The presence, where people slowly realize that the species is going to become extinct. And the future which shows the life without bees, a world full of chaos and fear.

So, who is the true natural force?

In what way is man at the mercy of the elements? In my opinion, every human, who is alive, is at the mercy of the elements, because we could not live without them, but on the other side the elements are able to kill us easily. So it's literally a game with the fire. 

Humanity started to live harmfully to the environment, because we used all the resources that we should use in a whole year, in 5 months, which is disrespectful to the elements in my line of thinking. Instead of using nature for our benefit, destroying it and trying to control the elements, we should respect them and try to live as environmentally friendly as we can, otherwise we won't live on this planet for a long time.

How can man protect himself from the elements? There is no way, but we should accept it and be happy that the elements let us stay alive. Especially when mountaineering, I can feel the force of nature, because every change of weather could be fatal. But I accept that everything depends on the elements in order to do what I love and to feel free, because that matters to me in life. 

Julian Stöckl - 10.05.2019 @ 17:54

Hi Yasmin! I really liked your article. I agree with you that we humans have a bond of some kind with nature. Just being in the forest, on the beach can make us relax. I also believe that despite this bond, nature is still the scariest thing in the world. We are all aware of the dangerous floods, tsunamis or earthquakes. I think that in couple of years we will be able to protect ourselves against them or maybe even prevent or control them. With our modern technology we are already safe most of the time. Winter for example doesn’t scare us anymore. For centuries we have been building safe houses, acquiring warm clothes. If in some unfortunate series of events we were deprived of those goods, we would experience a whole new level of dependence on nature and her whims. We can see this situation in a book “The Gulag Archipelago” by Aleksander Solzhenitsyn. People in this book are put in a Communist Soviet forced labor camp in northern Russia. They don’t have a place to hide from from the extreme cold and have to work, for example, cut down the forest in a temperature around -50 degrees Celsius. A lot of them die in the process. I think that shows the power of nature at its fullest and we can see that humans are in fact really defenseless on their own.

Izabela Kręc - 05.06.2019 @ 06:50

Hi guy's, we think that this text is really inspiring and gives you a real reminder of what's acctually happening in the world and all the bad impact we humans have on the earth. Your first question made us think why we feel so safe in nature. We think, that the ”outside" - the plants, animals and other creatures - work in a really simple and harmonic way. Their deeds are logic and it is always a purpose how it works and why it does things. 

It was also very interesting when you mentioned the thing about how we as humans can do a lot but not for exemple protect our environment and provide a bright future for our children and grandchildren. We often say that we ourselves are natural forces, because we are strong and unstoppable, but when it comes to catastrophies we realise that the size of our ego cannot replace our actual size as human beings. 

Amelie Håkansson - 03.10.2019 @ 13:52