Toronto Star: Is the apocalypse a real and present danger?

[marmar]

Is the apocalypse a real and present danger?
A menacing bubble of magma rumbling beneath Yellowstone Park really does threaten to blow its top and wreak havoc upon the planet. But when?

Stephen Smysnuik Staff Reporter
Published On Sun Dec 13 2009


There's a scene in the hit disaster epic 2012 when John Cusack outruns a monstrous dust cloud from a volcanic explosion at Yellowstone National Park, as red-hot lava spews thousands of feet into the air and fireballs annihilate the surrounding landscape.

Cusack outrunning a dust cloud that size is a fantasy. The Yellowstone super volcano is not.

Much of Yellowstone National Park, which straddles the states of Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, sits on one of the largest volcanoes on the planet, and when (not if) it erupts, it'll be messy.

About 15 kilometres below the park, in a magma chamber 85 kilometres wide, a restless molten blob is bubbling and oozing like neon taffy. The pressurized heat and gases from this chamber are what cause Old Faithful and its more erratic brethren to spout. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/article/738128--is-the-apocalypse-a-real-and-present-danger

[SpiralHawk]

1. Time for another Massive Medicine Wheel?

"While dwelling amid the high mountains along the North American Continental Divide, Bennie LeBeau of the Eastern Shoshone tribe experienced a torrent of dreams and visions, especially in 1999. The visions directed him to set in motion the plans for a massive Medicine Wheel Ceremony.

"Over the last year Bennie has become aware of many sharply distressing changes in both land and animals at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. These changes are becoming even more ominous right now, he says, and they have prodded him into direct action to bring his visions alive." (snip)

http://www.chiron-communications.com/communique%209-2.html

[SpiralHawk]

2. Somebody's even got a book out on this.

Spose a fella ought not to be surprised...

[dgibby]

3. And with our luck, when it blows, Darth Cheney will be in DC,

not on his ranch.

[SidDithers]

4. There was a TV movie called Supervolcano..

a few years ago, starring Michael Riley. It was entertaining, as far as disaster flicks go. And I think the science depicted was pretty correct, too.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0419372/

You can watch it on the Youtube :)
Part 1 starts here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF-RKzqNtz0

Sid