An Inconvenient Truth...

Environmental news now, 'mental' being the operative word. A massive volcanic eruption in Bejam or whatever they call it these days has sent Europe into a fit of pique. Thousands of holidaymakers are currently left stranded in all four corners of the globe (funny how we still use that phrase despite knowing that the Earth is... well, a globe...). People have reacted to this in many different ways, some responsibly, albeit with a degree of melancholia and others, well, others did this (I love how the presenter has to rationalise it).

Claims that the banks were burning down Iceland for insurance money have proved to be false. Instead it would appear the environment has just gone apeshit mental and decided to keep some planes out of the sky for a bit. Fair dos, you might think, but a similar eruption in 1821 lasted on and off for 18 months. Provisional plans in place include flying everyone to Spain, where the airspace remains open and then pulling a Dunkirk and sending the Navy plus all the ships we have to rescue everyone, except for the fact that this isn't a war and the Navy should probably be better served stopping organised sea crime and defending our waters.

It seems to me that a lot of these stranded tourists could learn a lesson from Coach Trip, no, not that everyone should be a massive tool and perpetuate the 'British Abroad' myth, but rather that flying is not the only way to travel. Ok, it may well be time-consuming seeking other methods of transport, but hey, if you've got 18 months then why not? Many seem to complain that the Government isn't doing anything about it, but in their 'perfect world' where we throw caution to the ashy winds and send the planes out to rescue for them, only for the ash to destroy the jet engines of a 747 somewhere over an urban conurbation killing hundreds, if not thousands you can bet that they'll pull a u-turn and claim that we should have erred on the side of caution. There's just no pleasing some people.

Saying that the planes are likely to suffer malfunctions isn't 'scaremongering', not when you cast a disparaging glance at the Daily Mail and notice headlines like "Everyone Wear Masks, You Dicks", "Thousands of Brits to Die From Ash Inhalation" and "Volcanic Eruption - Immigrants to Blame?" That's scaremongering. We need to realise that these two extremes aren't the only options, sure it can't be a case of 'just get on with it and send the planes up anyway' but then neither is it a case of 'stay indoors at all costs or you'll die'. There's middle ground, go outside, enjoy the sunshine and hope the nature calms the hell down in a couple of days.