Sinking in a Sea of Mud

I read a fascinating article in Friday's New York Times about a giant mud sea forming in Indonesia. It seems that exploratory drilling for natural gas set off a chain of geologic events resulting in the rapidly expanding sea of mud. Villages and towns have been inundated, with 60,000 people fleeing their homes. Scientists see no end to the growing volcano of mud. Because of a tremendous rise in respiratory illness in nearby residents, scientists fear that the toxic stew may be carcinogenic and lead to a health crisis in 5 to 10 years. The company responsible, Lapindo Brantas, blames an earthquake for the catastrophe, while a panel of 74 petroleum geologists have found that inadequate safeguards during drilling is the cause of the eruption. Payments to those who have lost their homes and jobs have been slow, and there are doubts that full restitution will ever be made due to the global economic downturn. Lapindo Brantas is indirectly owned by one of the richest families in Indonesia.

Since the first eruption in 2006, there have been more than 90 others, with mud bursting from the ground at unexpected times and places, including inside of people's homes.

I know you are thinking, why is she writing about this? Well, I have always been fascinated by geologic events like sinkholes, and this is one giant sinkhole with the added thrill of forceful explosions of mud. Did I mention that the ground is sinking by as much as 40 feet per year? Is this a sci-fi movie writing itself or what??

Maybe it's just me, but I can see parallels with our current economic sinkhole. Every day brings new distress signals with what feels like no end in sight. Rich people, and greedy people who wanted to be rich, kept drilling into the money supply with no safeguards, while the people who were supposed to be regulating were planning the purchase of their second or third homes or luxury vacations. Now we have what feels like a mudflow threatening to overtake our factories, our offices, our big box (and little box) retail outlets, our malls (maybe not such a bad idea), and our way of life generally. I realize this sounds hysterical, but I think the imagery is appropriate.

I'd love to include the photo of the eruption site but can't figure out how to copy it, so just follow the link above to see the article and photo. I guarantee you'll be fascinated too.