Natural Revival

I have always been astonished with the destruction wrought by the eruption of Mt St Helens.  I visited that area in the mid-90s and it is captivating in two main ways-the awesome power of nature & the ability of ecosystems to reconstruct. 

When Mt St Helens exploded its blast traveled at more than 300 miles per hour and throttled 230 square miles of forest.  The devastation quashed human life, animal life, and plant life.  It is easier, from human perspective, to focus on the point of destruction, the aftermath of an explosion.  We can circle a date, pinpoint of time, stand in awe of the video and pictures of the ultimate power of the volcano.

Somewhat equally intriguing, but nonetheless inherently abstract is the capacity of the vegetation and animal life to revive in the aftermath of the eruption.  Small plants and trees survived the blast, protected by soil under snow.  Amazingly, within about three weeks, spiders and beetles returned to the blast area and the process of rebuilding the ecosystem was underway.

There is a wider lesson in the quick return of the insects to the MT St Helens area...if these insects are naturally meant to inhabit and initiate ecological rebuilding, then they probably are necessary to the rebuilding of the habitats around our human dwellings.  "Pest control" is yet another a myth about how we should co-exist with our habitats.