In the old days, a kahuna would shake his head wisely and say, "The gods are angry." Today we know that Hurricane Katrina was caused by a weather system. Another weather system in July caused a typhoon that hit Shanghai, causing the Chinese government to evacuate 800,000 people.

Looting in New Orleans can be explained as the result of a breakdown in the social contract under stress. It is lamentable, since we associate such behavior with poor countries elsewhere, not with our own United States.

But rational explanations can't ease the despair in New Orleans, the indignities to which human beings have been subjected, the total devastation.

Maybe it's time we wonder if the gods, after all, might not be angry. Maybe Mother Nature is becoming impatient with us human beings who take her bounty for granted. She may be reminding us that we have been breaking her rules too long. Now she is making us pay.

It is sobering to realize that what happened in New Orleans and Shanghai are merely blips in nature's weather pattern. Hundreds of thousands were affected in the typhoon that hit Shanghai. In New Orleans, nobody knows yet how many have died. By turning up the intensity a few notches, Mother Nature can kill millions without blinking an eye.

What's scary is that larger disasters are yet to come unless we start paying attention. Fast-forward a century. The ocean level has risen because ice at the poles continues to melt. Hurricanes and typhoons have intensified because global warming has messed up the weather patterns.

By that time, populations have increased in the desirable seashore areas, including Hawai'i. A hurricane like Katrina would wipe out Waikiki exactly as it did New Orleans. Any coastal city would be vulnerable, millions of people at risk. With increased storm activity, we could count on not two or three big hits a year, but a dozen or more. Water systems, police protection, healthcare would break down. Looting would be rampant.

Scientists have been telling us for years that we must begin obeying nature's rules. It's simple common sense. The good news is that the destructive pattern is not inevitable. We can change it.

Take an example. I grew up in the Kansas Dust Bowl. I remember blizzards of dust. They were caused by irresponsible plowing of the prairie. Farmers forgot Mother Nature's rules. Many people lost everything. Since then, farmers have smartened up.

The change is remarkable. When my mother died, the prairie around the cemetery was brown. This year I went back for a family reunion and stood at her grave. The prairie is green again. Pay attention to what scientists tell us. Obey Mother Nature, and the gods will smile.

Reach Bob Krauss at 525-8073.