The Saturday Morning Post: You Can't Fool Mother Nature

Iceland is trying to save the Blue Lagoon, I think the bigger concern is the geothermal power plant next to it, that feeds the mineral rich hot water to the Blue Lagoon, and supplies a significant portion of the island's electricity and hot water for heating to thousands of homes.  They have built a berm, a pile of rocks and dirt to try to divert the lava from the ongoing volcanic eruption away from the area. As that has failed they are spraying water on the advancing lava (I am writing this a week before this posts, this may have changed or failed by the time this posts.) Ultimately there are limits on what we can do to control mother nature.  The forces at work in a volcano are stronger than man. 

What is Iceland's back up plan? They are drilling new geothermal wells 20 miles away, with plans for a new power plant moving forward at record speed.  The Lagoon will be harder to replace.  I am glad we took a soak there when we did.  

I was talking with a National Park Ranger who was repairing a boardwalk along the Potomac River the other day.  He said a replacement is planned in two years, and it will be taller and longer to accommodate rising water levels in the River.  He said, in the last 12 months, the average water level in the River has risen by 5 inches.  At that rate it will rise over 4 feet in the next 10 years, most of the Dyke Marsh trail is less than 4 feet above the water level. Massive reconstruction projects are underway to rebuild the marsh, but there is only so much you can do to push back against nature.  The dykes that have been built to rebuild the marsh, will be underwater in five or six years.  

We live on top of the ridge, about half a mile from the River and about 100 feet higher than the river.  The hill is a pain when you are walking up it, but as sea levels rise, we will end up with water view property in a 100 years or less.