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“Try us”: House progressives finally flex their power

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For years, progressives have floated the idea of acting as a bloc and using their power to shape the Democratic agenda, a tactic levied by several of the most influential congressional caucuses.
On Thursday, they finally did: Progressives stood by a threat they issued this summer, when they promised to vote against the <a href="https://www.vox.com/22598883/infrastructure-deal-bipartisan-bill-biden-manchin">bipartisan infrastructure bill</a> if it was considered in the House without a concurrent vote on a much larger <a href="https://www.vox.com/22577374/reconciliation-bill-biden-medicare-climate">reconciliation bill</a> (which contains a vast investment in social programs and measures to address climate change). Effectively, they argued, the infrastructure bill wouldn’t pass unless a broader $3.5 trillion package did first.
By holding their ground and pursuing a course of action that could derail both bills, progressives hope to force moderates in their own party to offer some type of commitment on the reconciliation measure.
More than half the members of the 96-person Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) maintained their intention to vote down the infrastructure bill on Thursday, thereby guaranteeing its failure. That commitment led House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to delay a planned vote, since Congress still hasn’t agreed on what the reconciliation package should include.
This move marks a huge shift in the way the CPC has used its power and what it has asked of its members. Prominent progressives have long argued that if even a subset of the caucus stayed united, it could influence major legislation and make ambitious policy demands — modeling themselves after methods used by groups such as the conservative Freedom Caucus and the moderate Blue Dog Coalition.
To get to that point, House progressives have had to think differently about congressional power as well as their own caucus. “It was a really important social club, for people with shared values to come together. But there wasn’t really any infrastructure built to support the organizing work,” CPC Chair Pramila Jayapal told Vox.
This thinking has been pushed by a new guard in the progressive caucus as well. “The thing that gives the caucus power is that you can operate as a bloc vote in order to get things done,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) <a href="https://jacobinmag.com/2018/07/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-interview-democratic-primary">told Jacobin magazine in 2018</a>.
Such coordination, though, has often proved elusive for the CPC.
Prior to this term, there have been scattered efforts by the group to work as a unit but few actual requirements of its members. Formal whip operations were rare, and the caucus had no rules governing how members needed to vote. This lack of structure coupled with the ideological diversity within the progressive caucus diluted both its cohesion and power.
In the last year, however, the caucus has passed new rules requiring members to vote with the bloc in certain situations, including the expectation that members support a position when two-thirds of the caucus agrees on it. The CPC also outlined key priorities for a reconciliation bill, such as lowering prescription drug prices and funding child care subsidies. Further, the caucus consolidated leadership behind one chair so that the group can respond more quickly and effectively in negotiations.
This change in strategy has been central to the way progressives have approached infrastructure talks. By acting as a bloc, the caucus has been able to make substantive demands — sometimes in the form of direct threats — and pressure moderate senators like Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) to bring a concrete reconciliation offer to the table. Thus far, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/09/30/us/government-shutdown-infrastructure#manchin-biden-spending-bill">Manchin has said he would support a $1.5 trillion package</a>, while Sinema has yet to publicly draw a red line. (While the number of progressives threatening to vote against the infrastructure bill on Thursday didn’t appear to reach the group’s two-thirds threshold, the bloc is still one of the largest the caucus has been able to rally in recent memory.)
Whether the CPC can secure simultaneous votes on the two bills — and whether Manchin and Sinema bend to additional pressure and back more ambitious legislation — remains to be seen. There’s the possibility, for instance, that moderates walk away altogether, meaning that neither the infrastructure bill nor the budget reconciliation package get passed.
Despite these risks, progressives’ confidence in their gambit underscores a new willingness to stand by their position, and use their weight, as real stakes hang in the balance.
“Try us,” <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/-try-us-jayapal-makes-clear-house-progressives-not-bluffing-on-infrastructure-bills-121664581925">Jayapal told reporters earlier in September</a>. “Now, we’re ready,” she emphasized to Vox ahead of Thursday’s showdown.
Over the past year, progressive members of Congress have strategized about how the caucus could more effectively leverage its power while Democrats control both chambers and the White House.
Because Democrats have such a narrow majority in both the House and the Senate, any <s>f</s>action, however small, can derail key votes and lobby for their legislative priorities. During the bipartisan infrastructure negotiations, these small margins gave progressives leverage to reschedule a vote on the bill.
In the past, there have been a few key barriers to progressives using their caucus to execute credible threats. First, there’s the size and wide-ranging ideological positions of the group, an issue it’s still navigating. The CPC has included members like Ocasio-Cortez who skew further to the left, as well as Democrats who’ve taken more centrist positions, such as Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, who has long accepted contributions from <a href="https://prospect.org/power/democratic-leaders-rake-corporate-cash-the-squad-sticks-small-donors/">corporate donors</a> while many progressives rely on small-dollar fundraising. In some cases, members didn’t display a clear dedication to its core goals. As a result, there hasn’t necessarily been unified stances on measures including <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/07/the-untold-story-of-the-progressive-insurgency-that-is-remaking-congress/">contentious votes on immigration</a> and <a href="https://www.rollcall.com/2021/09/23/house-passes-israel-iron-dome-funding-with-some-democratic-defections/">foreign policy</a>.
“It was a large caucus, and it was not very cohesive. And a lot of the members of the caucus were, frankly, not all that progressive,” said former Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC) of his time in the group prior to retiring from Congress in 2013.
As Jayapal noted, the group didn’t have many ways of identifying members’ policy stances or compelling them to work together. Previously, the caucus offered recommendations to members on key votes, but it didn’t have any formal procedures in place to urge them to vote in a certain way.
Then there’s the dynamics of congressional legislation. In the past, progressives have typically advocated for more expansive legislation, but they’ve also been willing to cave when needed for Democratic priorities to advance. In the case of the Affordable Care Act, for instance, progressives advocated for a public option but ultimately agreed to support a version of the bill without one to get something done.
“There’s a long history of progressive Democrats saying they will do a thing and it petering out,” said University of Chicago political scientist Ruth Bloch Rubin. “This may be the first time that Democrats are taking their threats more seriously.”
Caucus threats are nothing new in Congress, of course, but progressives have historically hesitated to follow through. The Freedom Caucus, a conservative group, has leveraged its strength as a bloc to push Republican bills to the right, including on measures <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/conservatives-house-border-bill_n_6555934">addressing border security</a> and repealing the ACA. But it’s also been willing to sink GOP bills entirely, which has helped it wield power.
Now, progressives have started taking steps toward establishing similar influence.
Last fall, <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/10/26/congressional-progressives-are-revamping-their-caucus-with-an-eye-toward-2021/">the CPC approved a new rules package</a> intended to strengthen its ability to operate as a bloc. It required members to attend a number of meetings, respond to whip counts on key votes, and vote together in certain situations, including when two-thirds of the caucus share the same position on an issue, the Intercept reported. Those who don’t vote with the bloc at least two-thirds of the time could face probation or expulsion.
While some of these reforms, including meeting attendance, seem like straightforward requirements, they speak to both the limited engagement the caucus has seen in the past and the willingness of some people to use their membership for clout. Members’ responses to whip counts during infrastructure negotiations, for example, have been key to understanding whether the CPC has the votes needed to make serious threats on the bill.
Those rules emulate practices utilized by the conservative Freedom Caucus and the moderate Blue Dog Democrats. If 80 percent of Freedom Caucus members take the same position, for instance, <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/10/20/house-freedom-caucus-what-is-it-and-whos-in-it/">that approach is binding for everyone else</a>.
At the same time, the ranks of the CPC have moved further to left, with lawmakers like Reps. Cori Bush (D-MO), Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), and Mondaire Jones (D-NY) winning their primaries in 2020.
The CPC’s latest actions also build on the organizing work of past leaders including Reps. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), who oversaw a progressive push in 2015 to oppose legislation expediting approval of President Barack Obama’s trade deals.
In recent years, progressives have leaned further into this power, threatening to withhold votes on <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2019/12/12/house-democrats-pass-broad-prescription-drug-price-bill-election-marker/">a 2019 prescription drug bill</a> pushed by House Democrats. In doing so, they were able to secure changes to the legislation, doubling the amount of drugs covered by the legislation. Additionally, <a href="https://twitter.com/RepJayapal/status/1358502487905378306">House progressives</a> were among those who successfully lobbied for more expansive stimulus checks in <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2021/3/10/22320350/biden-sign-stimulus-bill-covid-19">President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan</a> after some moderate Democrats <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2021/02/08/democrats-stimulus-checks-covid-relief/">attempted to narrow eligibility</a> for the payments even further.
“There have been a lot of mini-flexes that have built this muscle,” said Mary Small, the legislative director for Indivisible, a progressive advocacy group.
Progressives’ unity on reconciliation comes after months of internal organizing. In April, the CPC agreed on <a href="http://jayapal.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/CPC-Infrastructure-Priorities.pdf">five key policy priorities</a> for Biden’s American Jobs Plan — a broad package that’s since been split into two bills — after surveying its members. These priorities include lowering prescription drug prices; creating a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients and certain other immigrants; investments in affordable housing, child care subsidies, and paid family leave; and support for climate jobs programs.
The big question now is whether progressives’ threats will ultimately be effective.
Critics of the CPC’s strategy counter that progressives’ tactics could mean that neither the bipartisan infrastructure bill nor the larger social spending package will pass, leaving Democrats nothing to show for their months of work.
Some political experts, however, consider this scenario unlikely, arguing that tying both infrastructure bills together gives moderates and progressives alike an incentive to work together. Because moderates want to advance an infrastructure bill that they can take back to their constituents — and progressives are similarly committed to the reconciliation measure — the two party factions have real motivations to bargain.
“It gives the progressives more power because the moderates want something,” said Alison Craig, an assistant government professor at the University of Texas at Austin. “It’s not just a matter of moderates being opposed, it’s a matter of them wanting something.”
The infrastructure debate also offers a glimpse into the type of influence a united progressive bloc can wield. Jayapal said her caucus is open to using similar tactics moving forward.
“I don’t think when we passed those rules reforms and talked about collective power, that that was intended for one event,” she told Vox. “We can do that on multiple things.”
But whether progressives can replicate these maneuvers in future policy fights remains an open question. The reconciliation measure is a uniquely prominent Democratic agenda item, one that is popular with the public and has the backing of the White House. Biden, after all, is personally invested in making sure the legislation doesn’t fail.
And despite the broad-based agreement the caucus has built on its care economy and climate priorities, its members often still split on other issues. In some cases, the new unity can go only so far: A much smaller subset of lawmakers in “the Squad” <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/05/20/squad-capitol-police-funding-pressley-aoc-omar/">voted down funding for the Capitol Police</a> and <a href="https://www.rollcall.com/2021/09/23/house-passes-israel-iron-dome-funding-with-some-democratic-defections/">Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system</a>, for example. Not “every voting dimension” enjoys the same level of cohesion, said Josh Huder, a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Government Affairs Institute.
Progressives could face a different dynamic, for instance, if they didn’t have some White House support for their position or if they disagree on legislation. Ultimately, holding the line would be tougher in both of those scenarios.
“If they get a win from this, then they will be emboldened by that. But they still need the circumstances to align,” UT Austin’s Craig said.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/9/30/22700697/house-progressives-infrastructure-vote">https://www.vox.com/2021/9/30/22700697/house-progressives-infrastructure-vote</a>

vox “Try us”: House progressives finally flex their power

For years, progressives have floated the idea of acting as a bloc and using their power to shape the Democratic agenda, a tactic levied by ...

Venom: Let There Be Carnage has a bombshell post-credits scene

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Venom: Let There Be Carnage, a.k.a Venom 2, features what is arguably the biggest end credits scene of the past few years — one that might ultimately be more pivotal than the movie itself.
Before we get to the actual scene, though, here is the part where I ask you to please not read any further unless you want to be spoiled. This is your chance to close the tab and click away.
Seriously — spoilers below.
When the first Venom movie came out in 2018, <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/10/4/17933646/venom-post-credits-scenes-spoilers-explained">one of its credits scenes</a> introduced Carnage (Woody Harrelson), who became the titular villain of the 2021 sequel. Setting up a sequel and establishing a villain — that’s a pretty big reveal for the end credits of a film!
In a similar vein, 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home also featured <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/7/2/20653081/spider-man-far-from-home-2-post-credits-scenes-explained-spoilers">a revelatory credits scene</a>, one in which Peter Parker’s identity was revealed. That scene appears to be the setup for the upcoming <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rt-2cxAiPJk">Spider-Man: No Way Home</a>.
Notably, both the Venom and Spider-Man franchises are produced or co-produced by Sony. Given the studio’s recent track record of swinging for the fences in its credits scenes by using them to tease upcoming movies, the events of Venom 2’s credits scene suggest a future film in which Spider-Man, Venom, Venom’s human host Eddie Brock, and possibly the <a href="https://www.vox.com/22632477/shang-chi-marvel-mcu-multiverse-eternals-wandavision-loki-disney-plus">Marvel multiverse</a> are all going to get very familiar with one another — sooner rather than later.
At the end of Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Eddie and Venom have fled to a desert island. The remote locale allows them to evade law enforcement while giving Venom a chance to live his best life — there are abundant small animals to eat, there’s no one around so he can switch between his forms, and so on. The movie’s credits scene picks up from there as Venom and Eddie are watching television in bed.
Spurred by what they’re watching (I think it’s a telenovela, but I’m not quite sure), Venom says that he’s been keeping a secret from Eddie. It turns out that Venom is carrying some “80 billion light-years” of knowledge as a symbiote and asks Eddie if he would like a taste of that knowledge via some kind of mind-merge. Eddie thinks this sounds rad and says yes.
Venom begins the mind-merge process, and then the time jumps. There’s a flash in the distance. The entire room vibrates. Eddie seemingly goes into a state of shock, but when he comes to, the rustic room he and Venom were staying in has transformed into a luxury resort. There’s a half-naked man in the bathroom, who asks Eddie what they’re doing in his room.
Before Eddie can answer, J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons) appears on the room’s television screen in a breaking news report we’ve seen before: It’s a similar broadcast to the one in the end credits scenes for Spider-Man: Far From Home and <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/7/2/20653081/spider-man-far-from-home-2-post-credits-scenes-explained-spoilers">reveals the identity of Spider-Man as Tom Holland’s Peter Parker</a>. The Venom 2 scene ends with Venom licking the screen — which, yes, creepy.
Venom 2’s credits scene raises one big question and drops one giant reveal. The big question: What exactly happened to Venom and Eddie?
There are a couple of possible answers. Perhaps their mind-merge moment somehow altered their reality. It could very well be that Venom’s eons of knowledge were never meant to be shared with humans.
Or maybe they were mind-merging during a moment when something else altered their reality. It is certainly possible that their change in scenery was somehow caused by Doctor Strange’s spells in the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home. It also could have been caused by an event along the lines of the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/4/26/18514287/avengers-endgame-ending-explained-spoiler">Bruce Banner snap in Avengers: Endgame</a>, which brought back all the life in the universe that had previously been destroyed by Thanos.
Banner’s snap certainly could have triggered the events in the Venom 2 credits scene — particularly a time jump that turns Eddie and Venom’s island shack into a luxury hotel room. However, that seems slightly unlikely, because the J. Jonah Jameson/Spider-Man reveal happens in a credits scene for <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/7/2/20653081/spider-man-far-from-home-2-post-credits-scenes-explained-spoilers">Spider-Man: Far From Home</a>, and that film chronologically takes place months after the events of Endgame. There wouldn’t be a breaking news report revealing Parker’s identity so suddenly after Banner’s snap.
So it’s probably more likely that magic performed by Doctor Strange (or performed by someone nefarious who’s pretending to be Doctor Strange) is at play. This possibility is supported by the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rt-2cxAiPJk">trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home movie</a>, which comes out this December. In that trailer, we see Peter Parker asking Strange to cast a spell that will make everyone forget his identity. When Strange agrees, the magic he uses seems to screw with reality, opening the door to the multiverse — the idea that there are parallel realities and dimensions existing concurrently at any moment — and making it possible for Doctor Octopus, the villain from 2004’s Spider-Man 2, to show up in the 2021 movie featuring an entirely different Peter Parker.
No matter what caused the jump/dimension warp in the Venom: Let There Be Carnage credits scene, it is directly linked to the scene’s big reveal: Venom, Eddie, and Spider-Man are all part of the same world. The idea of a Venom/Spider-Man crossover has been <a href="https://www.ign.com/articles/spider-man-sony-marvel-mcu-shared-universe-plan">discussed by Sony</a> as a possible future storyline, but the Venom 2 credits scene provides the first onscreen confirmation that the two characters occupy the same cinematic universe. The scene is undoubtedly intended to tease a meeting between them, whether in a future Venom movie or a future Spider-Man movie — and that meeting could theoretically take place as early as December, in the upcoming No Way Home.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/22698513/venom-2-let-there-be-carnage-post-credits-scene-tom-holland-spider-man">https://www.vox.com/culture/22698513/venom-2-let-there-be-carnage-post-credits-scene-tom-holland-spider-man</a>

vox Venom: Let There Be Carnage has a bombshell post-credits scene

Venom: Let There Be Carnage , a.k.a Venom 2 , features what is arguably the biggest end credits scene of the past few years — one that migh...

Kilauea is erupting in Hawaii. Here are 7 things to know about volcanoes.

Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano, one of the state’s youngest and rowdiest, is erupting again for the first time in a year. The <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/volcano-updates">US Geological Survey</a> detected the eruption on Wednesday when cameras placed near the summit revealed a glow.
Since then, fountains of lava have blasted up from the volcano’s Halema’uma’u crater, reaching the height of a five-story building. Officials have upgraded the alert level from a watch to a warning, meaning that a hazardous eruption is “<a href="https://www.usgs.gov/natural-hazards/volcano-hazards/about-alert-levels">imminent, underway, or suspected</a>.” The aviation color code was also raised from orange to red, indicating that a significant emission of ash into the sky is likely.
For the <a href="https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2021/08/13/hawaii-news/big-island-tops-200000-residents-in-latest-count/">more than 200,000 residents</a> of Hawaii’s Big Island, the latest eruption may stir memories of the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/5/17/17364666/kilauea-volcano-eruption-2018-summit-plume-photos">2018 Kilauea eruption</a> that cracked open 22 fissures, launched ash 11,000 feet into the air, triggered the largest earthquake on the island in 40 years, <a href="https://twitter.com/WeatherNation/status/993406707165413377?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=about%3Asrcdoc">swallowed cars</a>, and <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/news/2018/07/09/number-of-homes-destroyed-by-kilauea-eruption.html">destroyed 700 homes</a>. One of the lava flows reached the ocean and created at least 250 acres of new coastline. But prior to that upswell, Kilauea had been erupting at a low level since 1983 and was a popular sight in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park.
It’s another example of the powerful lure and the immense risk of volcanoes. Despite the potential for danger, many choose to stay and build their lives near these rumbling, temperamental giants. Approximately 800 million people live within 60 miles of active volcanoes worldwide.
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<figcaption>Kilauea volcano is located in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park.</figcaption>
<cite><a class="ql-link" href="https://www.usgs.gov/maps/september-29-2021-k-lauea-summit-eruption-reference-map" target="_blank">US Geological Survey</a></cite></figure>
There are few things in the world more awesome than a volcanic eruption. The earth itself comes apart, and from its depths blast fiery molten rock, acrid gas, and towering plumes of ash.
Eruptions create new lands and <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/archaeology/pompeii/">destroy civilizations</a>. They release more energy than nuclear weapons. They are visible from space and can change the temperature of the whole planet. The <a href="http://nautil.us/blog/the-sound-so-loud-that-it-circled-the-earth-four-times">Krakatoa</a> volcano in Indonesia produced the <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-loudest-sound-in-the-world-would-kill-you-on-the-spot/">loudest sound</a> ever heard. Even mild eruptions, like the ashy burp from Iceland’s <a href="https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=372020">Eyjafjallajökull</a> in 2010, can force the global economy to grind to a halt.
<figure class="e-image"><picture class="c-picture" data-cid="site/picture_element-1633067740_8900_94153" data-cdata='{"asset_id":11558025,"ratio":"*"}'><source srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/TVcQUbUiSsSTxtvT8GASEhw8Llg=/0x0:1140x855/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:1140x855):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11558025/USGSLavaOcean.jpg 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/8S4rvTk_k-3hpKrkR9o2cUagBr4=/0x0:1140x855/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:1140x855):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11558025/USGSLavaOcean.jpg 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/E0qsdNmp0wt3n_sicyfRpd93dXw=/0x0:1140x855/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:1140x855):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11558025/USGSLavaOcean.jpg 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/jMZTszKMR62OrSURW87MktB3xAU=/0x0:1140x855/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:1140x855):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11558025/USGSLavaOcean.jpg 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/2UMr7xFlExJSQFVAnGSwbdrNpqY=/0x0:1140x855/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:1140x855):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11558025/USGSLavaOcean.jpg 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/S7Hc2MJeLRtmYqp6nXzIx-cWRH8=/0x0:1140x855/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:1140x855):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11558025/USGSLavaOcean.jpg 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/OTsusIv0MmvyhdujY4Ut9iGwGhA=/0x0:1140x855/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:1140x855):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11558025/USGSLavaOcean.jpg 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/gIfJwCzqiE6g1bibZ1pAvhh_Yec=/0x0:1140x855/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:1140x855):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11558025/USGSLavaOcean.jpg 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/GMRVKHhe5OiPq0ky9raW9M4nw98=/0x0:1140x855/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:1140x855):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11558025/USGSLavaOcean.jpg 1920w" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" type="image/webp" /> <img alt="The coast of Hawaii seen from above, with steam clouds where lava is meeting the sea." data-upload-width="1140" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/K49Dyhzn6AXl4pbFh1e5jYG2dSE=/0x0:1140x855/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:1140x855):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11558025/USGSLavaOcean.jpg" srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/j2W9cKnj3b88RWYVmnZRf7TJUUs=/0x0:1140x855/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:1140x855):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11558025/USGSLavaOcean.jpg 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/NF_fdqEoYGBk0KGX7LQhVakqpog=/0x0:1140x855/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:1140x855):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11558025/USGSLavaOcean.jpg 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/sxrGgoBLwPG6aq3YhEu1ZnPUdSU=/0x0:1140x855/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:1140x855):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11558025/USGSLavaOcean.jpg 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ENubHr7OylhxMabje8p_w2-2Z8w=/0x0:1140x855/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:1140x855):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11558025/USGSLavaOcean.jpg 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/eu8zREBlNzi7jaSgnPSSTbk2RMY=/0x0:1140x855/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:1140x855):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11558025/USGSLavaOcean.jpg 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/tdy-eVAO59y8GvQ7eHHF9bwIkrw=/0x0:1140x855/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:1140x855):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11558025/USGSLavaOcean.jpg 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qWK3kMWPx-G5DeFuPpkWiNm5pLY=/0x0:1140x855/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:1140x855):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11558025/USGSLavaOcean.jpg 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/O6-EHYwYRznyR8_Vd34l65RzcGc=/0x0:1140x855/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:1140x855):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11558025/USGSLavaOcean.jpg 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/QPilvvWhhxiUatsmTGflv__qmfQ=/0x0:1140x855/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:1140x855):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11558025/USGSLavaOcean.jpg 1920w" /></picture>
<figcaption>Lava from Kilauea volcano created new coastline in the Kapoho area on Hawaii’s Big Island.</figcaption>
<cite><a class="ql-link" href="https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/k-lauea-volcano-kapoho-new-land" target="_blank">USGS</a></cite></figure>
A <a href="http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/how-volcano-defined-being-active-dormant-or-extinct">volcano is considered potentially active</a> if it has erupted in the past 10,000 years. America has <a href="https://www.americangeosciences.org/critical-issues/faq/how-many-active-volcanoes-are-there-united-states">169 active volcanoes</a>, mainly clustered in the West — in Hawaii, Alaska, Wyoming, Washington, and California. Around the world, there are 1,500 <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-many-active-volcanoes-are-there-earth?qt-news_science_products=0#qt-news_science_products">potentially active</a> volcanoes, 500 of which have erupted since humans have been around, according to the USGS. Some of these potentially active volcanoes may never erupt, some may ooze lava slowly for years, and some may one day have a massive ejection that wreaks havoc.
<figure class="e-image"><picture class="c-picture" data-cid="site/picture_element-1633067740_6071_94154" data-cdata='{"asset_id":10822851,"ratio":"*"}'><source srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-wjjmLXJqxUKcvqHgt_WIjgm-AM=/0x0:1920x1080/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x1080):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822851/Kilauea_volcano_lava.jpg 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/A3Ic7e_l_oIymgI_uFqPMuX3hnM=/0x0:1920x1080/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x1080):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822851/Kilauea_volcano_lava.jpg 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/mifXNg9ACSE_DQuaE9BoaJA9jkA=/0x0:1920x1080/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x1080):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822851/Kilauea_volcano_lava.jpg 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/eOZnQddslrdfEu1PLuZXrEsRFhk=/0x0:1920x1080/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x1080):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822851/Kilauea_volcano_lava.jpg 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/aWFGCKKIXwjrHmwrDYHPKS9swAw=/0x0:1920x1080/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x1080):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822851/Kilauea_volcano_lava.jpg 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/4XQsfcY8WUC36GcAXJFXGew92r0=/0x0:1920x1080/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x1080):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822851/Kilauea_volcano_lava.jpg 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/OOu0-d7UavZYl0ji0bPdy5Q12kk=/0x0:1920x1080/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x1080):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822851/Kilauea_volcano_lava.jpg 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/6I10WTC3eEQ_obtDwYRVIOSzi9w=/0x0:1920x1080/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x1080):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822851/Kilauea_volcano_lava.jpg 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/q5OnAy-OoSP0vBfZyepF_zY1EBI=/0x0:1920x1080/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x1080):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822851/Kilauea_volcano_lava.jpg 1920w" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" type="image/webp" /> <img alt="Lava from Kilauea volcano flowing into the ocean, creating new land." data-upload-width="1920" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/rTz5HavBvWPhCbn9nsbcKbTfTKY=/0x0:1920x1080/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x1080):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822851/Kilauea_volcano_lava.jpg" srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Rx4rDNdwAr3-k0lZhKD816jUVco=/0x0:1920x1080/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x1080):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822851/Kilauea_volcano_lava.jpg 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/5XUHkJaWfnW4de16VUbgvcSz418=/0x0:1920x1080/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x1080):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822851/Kilauea_volcano_lava.jpg 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/QjOthjJ852z8wkdELl6QtsEAJGM=/0x0:1920x1080/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x1080):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822851/Kilauea_volcano_lava.jpg 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/0fuoSkvrzVY2NHaxMxJnDCWp0eg=/0x0:1920x1080/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x1080):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822851/Kilauea_volcano_lava.jpg 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ToNuGbbOLm6PIrW_UGQuUW578zA=/0x0:1920x1080/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x1080):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822851/Kilauea_volcano_lava.jpg 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/oCdNZeTnsn1KqZI3aIoMQs_S_oc=/0x0:1920x1080/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x1080):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822851/Kilauea_volcano_lava.jpg 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/oPz8DHZd5dlPYQQ4Y36s75dokhY=/0x0:1920x1080/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x1080):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822851/Kilauea_volcano_lava.jpg 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/3GsC263sDMyQpIMDmkjvCxLhANU=/0x0:1920x1080/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x1080):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822851/Kilauea_volcano_lava.jpg 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/TP9Rb9RmxE7sAaRFV2e7gi9GazQ=/0x0:1920x1080/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x1080):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822851/Kilauea_volcano_lava.jpg 1920w" /></picture>
<figcaption>Lava from the Kilauea volcano flowing into the ocean.</figcaption>
<cite>Marc Szeglat/Barcroft Media/Getty Images</cite></figure>
To study volcanoes, scientists brave the rippling heat of lava and acrid gases, climbing up slopes and sometimes into <a href="http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work/Calderas.html">craters</a> to place instruments and take measurements. Here are some of the coolest things they’ve learned — from the most likely way a volcano would kill you to whether it’s okay to throw your garbage into one.
A volcano is what happens when the earth’s crust leaks and molten rock squirts through. The crust is made of giant blocks called tectonic plates that slide on top of the <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/mantle/">mantle</a>, which can reach temperatures of 3,700 degrees Celsius.
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The mantle makes up 84 percent of Earth’s volume, and though it’s solid rock, over the course of millions of years, it behaves like a liquid. This leads the tectonic plates on top to slowly jostle one another. The buildup and sudden release of friction from this movement can cause <a href="https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/9/21/16339522/8-things-to-know-about-earthquakes-alaska">earthquakes</a>.
The movement also creates gaps in tectonic plates, which reduces pressure on the mantle beneath it, allowing it to melt and push through. These rift zones are where new land is created as magma bubbles up to the surface and cools off, forming basalt rocks. Plates also slide on top of one another, pushing the edge of one plate up and the edge of the other plate down in a process called subduction. The <a href="http://www.deepseachallenge.com/the-expedition/mariana-trench/">Mariana Trench</a>, the deepest point in the world, occurs in a subduction zone.
At plate boundaries in the ocean, subduction moves water into the mantle, lowering the melting point of rock underneath the edges of continental plates. The molten rock can then push its way up to the surface of the Earth.
This is the mechanism behind the geologic activity in the <a href="https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/1/24/16924312/earthquake-volcano-mayon-philippines-japan">Ring of Fire</a>, the 25,000-mile perimeter of the Pacific tectonic plate, running from Southeast Asia toward Russia, Alaska, and down toward South America. The region is home to <a href="https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/glossary/?term=Ring%20of%20Fire">90 percent</a> of the world’s earthquakes and <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/earth/ring-of-fire/">75 percent</a> of all volcanoes.
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Volcanoes can form in the middle of tectonic plates as well. <a href="https://www.iris.edu/hq/inclass/animation/hotspot_volcanism_thermal_plume">Hot spots</a> can emerge in the mantle, creating a conduit for molten rock in the plate toward the surface.
The Hawaiian islands were formed over such a hot spot as molten rock breached the earth’s surface and cooled down, layering with each eruption until islands cropped up from the bottom of the ocean.
In fact, <a href="https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/mauna_loa/">Mauna Loa</a> on Hawaii’s Big Island, the largest active volcano on earth, can also be considered the <a href="https://www.soest.hawaii.edu/GG/HCV/maunaloa.html">largest mountain</a> since the distance from its base beneath the ocean to its peak is 30,085 feet, higher than Mount Everest’s 29,032 feet. Above the water, Mauna Loa is 13,678 feet tall.
Molten rock that reaches the surface of the earth is, of course, called lava. How syrupy or watery the lava is depends on the kind of rocks being melted. Goopier magma and lava tends to cause more explosive eruptions and form steep-sided volcanoes, while runnier rocks tend to ooze out and create gradually sloping volcanoes.
The forces that create volcanoes act over hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of years. Humans have only been around for a measly 200,000 years.
That mismatch is the key reason geologic activity in general and volcanoes in particular are so hard to predict. We’ve only experienced a narrow slice of their existence.
In general, an eruption occurs when the pressure of magma, underground molten rock, exceeds that of the rocks on top holding it in place, though earthquakes can also trigger eruptions.
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<figcaption>Mount Agung in Bali, Indonesia, has been erupting intermittently since November 2017.</figcaption>
<cite>Solo Imaji/Barcroft Images/Getty Images</cite></figure>
“All of us ... have an experience with a toilet backing up,” said Tracy Gregg, an associate professor of geology at the University at Buffalo. “What causes the eruption is that the pressure inside the pipe builds up until the pipes burst, and earthquakes help open up pathways.”
Though the past can’t perfectly predict the future, the history of eruptions does show what is possible and where. The Kilauea volcano, the most active volcano in the world and one that has been slowly dribbling out lava off and on since 1983, is a case in point.
It’s one of the best-studied volcanoes in the world, and geologists knew that a larger eruption was possible. In 2018, they were able to read some warning signs ahead of that surge in activity and anticipate how it would play out.
“Cracks appeared within a few kilometers of where we expected them to,” Gregg said. “From a scientific standpoint, it was a fantastic coup.”
Unlike earthquakes, volcanic eruptions are often heralded by rumblings, fissures, and releases of gases like sulfur dioxide in the weeks, days, or hours ahead of an eruption.
“Volcanoes show precursory signs of eruptive activity — what we call ‘unrest,’” a spokesperson for the US Geological Survey said in an email. “One of the ways we detect signs of unrest is actually using earthquakes. At volcanoes, earthquakes can tell us that the ground surface is fracturing as a result of magma pushing against and through rocks.”
However, scientists are uncertain whether large earthquakes occurring farther away could trigger an eruption.
With better instruments and monitoring, geologists are aiming to build more robust forecasts to get people out of harm’s way. But the amount of warning these signals can give varies depending on the volcano. <a href="https://websites.pmc.ucsc.edu/~seisweb/emily_brodsky/">Emily Brodsky</a>, a professor of earth and planetary sciences at the University of California Santa Cruz, noted that volcano monitoring has a high false positive rate since earthquakes and fissures don’t always mean a big eruption is imminent. The trick is to develop warnings for people in volcanic areas that instill caution without complacency.
Some of the most haunting relics of history are the plaster casts made of the people of Pompeii, Italy, who died during the massive eruption of <a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/11/101102/pompeii-mount-vesuvius-science-died-instantly-heat-bodies/">Mount Vesuvius</a> in CE 79 and left behind hollows in the solidified ash.
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<figcaption>Workers restore casts of victims of the Mount Vesuvius eruption in Pompeii, Italy.</figcaption>
<cite>Salvatore Laporta/KONTROLAB /LightRocket</cite></figure>
Excavations of the ash there have revealed a civilization frozen in time as a roaring torrent of extreme heat, ash, and toxic gas suddenly swept over it, killing at least 13,000 people.
History is filled with many accounts of devastating and deadly volcanic eruptions, though the death tolls are usually more modest. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/23/world/asia/japan-volcano-soldier-killed.html">Mount Kusatsu-Shirane</a>, 100 miles northwest of Tokyo, erupted in January 2018, killing one soldier in an avalanche.
But we don’t have to go too far back to find an utterly catastrophic eruption. The <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/13/newsid_2539000/2539731.stm">Nevado del Ruiz</a> volcano killed more than 20,000 people in Colombia when it erupted in 1985.
From rockslides to earthquakes to lava, volcanic eruptions pose many hazards. One common threat is the release of <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/air/humanhealth-sulfur.htm">sulfur dioxide gas</a> from deep underground. It’s colorless but has a pungent burnt odor. Sulfur dioxide can irritate the airways, and in high enough concentrations, it can suffocate. When mixed with water vapor and carbon dioxide, it creates a hazy volcanic fog, a.k.a. <a href="http://www.ivhhn.org/vog/what-vog">vog</a>.
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<figcaption>Mount Mayon in the Philippines erupting in January 2018.</figcaption>
<cite>Romeo Mariano/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images</cite></figure>
The next, more visible risk is ash. It’s rarely an immediate danger to health, though it can damage aircraft and hamper visibility for drivers, leading to accidents. Falling ash can accumulate on roofs and collapse structures as well. Jagged ash particles irritate the lungs and over the long term can lead to a disease known as <a href="http://www.lung.org/lung-health-and-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/silicosis/silicosis-symptoms-causes-risk.html">silicosis</a>.
And ash can destroy crops. The deadliest eruption on record, the eruption of the <a href="http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/deadliest-eruption">Tambora volcano</a> in Indonesia in 1815, killed 92,000 people, largely by starvation.
Earthquakes associated with eruptions can also knock over buildings and trigger deadly landslides.
Then there’s lava. While some lava flows inch forward, others can reach speeds up to <a href="http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/how-fast-does-lava-flow">40 mph</a>. This molten rock reaching temperatures of <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-hot-a-hawaiian-volcano?qt-news_science_products=0#qt-news_science_products">1,250°C</a> is nearly unstoppable, though people have certainly tried to redirect it. A study reported that <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02600367">aerial bombing</a> “has a substantial probability of success for diversion of lava” based on US Air Force bombing experiments on Mauna Loa in the 1970s.
Perhaps the scariest consequence of an eruption is a combination of all of the above in a phenomenon known as <a href="https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/vhp/pyroclastic_flows.html">pyroclastic flow</a>, a fast-moving mix of lava, rock, ash, and toxic gas.
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This cascading torrent of earth can destroy anything in its path at speeds up to <a href="http://www.geo.umass.edu/courses/volcanology/Pyroclastic%202.pdf">300 mph</a>, which was observed when Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980. “If you witness a <a href="https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/vsc/glossary/pyroclastic_flow.html">pyroclastic flow</a>, run in the opposite direction as quickly as possible,” the US Geological Survey notes on its website.
When <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/1997/fs113-97/">Mount Pinatubo</a> in the Philippines erupted in 1991 in the second-largest volcanic eruption in the 20th century, it injected 20 million tons of sulfur dioxide and ash 12 miles up into the stratosphere. These particles and aerosols spread all over the world and scattered incoming sunlight.
Scientists found that <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=1510">global temperatures cooled</a> by 0.6°C on average in the 15 months following the eruption.
The eruption is a vivid example of how a single event can ripple throughout the planet. But not every volcano can nudge the thermostat.
“You need a very high plume and a lot of sulfur,” said NASA climate scientist Chris Colose in an email. “If there’s no material injected into the high atmosphere (the stratosphere) then there will be minimal climate impact, since the sulfur has a low lifetime in the lower parts of the atmosphere closer to the surface (the troposphere).”
<figure class="e-image"><picture class="c-picture" data-cid="site/picture_element-1633067740_4831_94160" data-cdata='{"asset_id":10822925,"ratio":"*"}'><source srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/gOpXzGV3OJXzOLcP02i0ZslM-Nc=/0x0:2000x1313/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:2000x1313):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822925/Mount_etna_Nasa.jpg 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/tZgtl0a6f7Sz3GvAh-oT8lqr_iw=/0x0:2000x1313/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:2000x1313):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822925/Mount_etna_Nasa.jpg 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/sKNBknmAfMfzqfj-91TBp9x_b3s=/0x0:2000x1313/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:2000x1313):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822925/Mount_etna_Nasa.jpg 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/k3ow3hsjbDoM4sJ4G5ATxvD7lEU=/0x0:2000x1313/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:2000x1313):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822925/Mount_etna_Nasa.jpg 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Zp-31ibvDJL07QLA_jBqyYUtCLE=/0x0:2000x1313/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:2000x1313):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822925/Mount_etna_Nasa.jpg 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/VIYWnn39GEkZLGNk_4IScVEx9i4=/0x0:2000x1313/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:2000x1313):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822925/Mount_etna_Nasa.jpg 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/dwtfrnKEywv6Vbmh0jVwoGLrn4s=/0x0:2000x1313/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:2000x1313):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822925/Mount_etna_Nasa.jpg 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/KNBwotUf2XcgqGJA_PJ122VPJJs=/0x0:2000x1313/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:2000x1313):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822925/Mount_etna_Nasa.jpg 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/oFvkozLN8bOsg80HQ_DHZh109s4=/0x0:2000x1313/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:2000x1313):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822925/Mount_etna_Nasa.jpg 1920w" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" type="image/webp" /> <img alt="A satellite view of Mount Etna erupting in Italy in 2001." data-upload-width="2000" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cEx32nOYAel866iEuw1tHd_TKtI=/0x0:2000x1313/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:2000x1313):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822925/Mount_etna_Nasa.jpg" srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ByTvcaIYxPJ2zsPHU9bIVwe0rQc=/0x0:2000x1313/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:2000x1313):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822925/Mount_etna_Nasa.jpg 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/1WPxE_QIo8-5Bs88N8XuH6LcCYs=/0x0:2000x1313/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:2000x1313):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822925/Mount_etna_Nasa.jpg 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/KG5tcBWypxZy_vkJWqY0P5h7xRs=/0x0:2000x1313/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:2000x1313):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822925/Mount_etna_Nasa.jpg 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qdErGos4qnWWPhMxjF-vVUHTNe4=/0x0:2000x1313/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:2000x1313):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822925/Mount_etna_Nasa.jpg 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/s9KohIpKaI-GCT37VU2zqIjkwb4=/0x0:2000x1313/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:2000x1313):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822925/Mount_etna_Nasa.jpg 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/KXgyQU0XjwMnFd5T3sX578-c0qs=/0x0:2000x1313/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:2000x1313):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822925/Mount_etna_Nasa.jpg 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-_fl6ZqqOliZAB7_Cd96671RUlk=/0x0:2000x1313/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:2000x1313):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822925/Mount_etna_Nasa.jpg 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/M-D2K34fXVNPq_nL9Ov_QzIFBAg=/0x0:2000x1313/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:2000x1313):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822925/Mount_etna_Nasa.jpg 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/zViLK8LHqPVfef3iJ9o4QiJn0io=/0x0:2000x1313/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:2000x1313):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822925/Mount_etna_Nasa.jpg 1920w" /></picture>
<figcaption>A satellite view of Mount Etna erupting in Italy in 2001.</figcaption>
<cite>NASA</cite></figure>
The cooling effects of a volcano, if there are any, only linger for one to three years, so we can’t count on erupting our way to a cooler planet as the climate changes. But scientists are studying volcanoes in case humanity does need to deliberately cool the planet in the face of catastrophic climate change, an emerging field known as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/01/climate/volcano-geoengineering.html">geoengineering</a>.
About half of the 169 volcanoes in the United States are considered dangerous because of the manner in which they may erupt and the communities nearby that are in harm’s way, according to the <a href="https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/vhp/nvews.html">USGS</a>. Though most of the volcanoes are in sparsely populated areas, their ash plumes and toxic gas emissions can spread for hundreds of miles.
<a href="https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/clear_lake/">Clear Lake Volcanic Field</a>, for example, has a “high” threat potential and is 90 miles north of the San Francisco Bay Area, home to 7 million people. The last eruption at the site was 11,000 years ago around <a href="https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/clear_lake/clear_lake_geo_hist_38.html">Mount Konocti</a>, but “the numerous hot springs and volcanic gas seeps in the area point to its potential to erupt again.”
Despite the potential hazards, researchers say we know alarmingly little about many threatening volcanoes in the United States. “Currently, many of these volcanoes have insufficient monitoring systems, and others have obsolete equipment,” the USGS said.
Lawmakers have proposed creating a <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/346">National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System</a> to fill in these gaps, but the bill did not pass.
There’s a massive volcano beneath <a href="https://www.vox.com/2014/9/5/6108169/yellowstone-supervolcano-eruption">Yellowstone National Park</a> that has sparked speculation that its eruption could one day lead to devastation unlike anything humanity has ever witnessed, scattering ash over the entire continental United States.
Scientists say the volcano is capable of an eruption so powerful, it could eject more than 1,000 cubic kilometers of earth. That’s more than double the volume of Lake Erie, yielding a score of 8 on the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20111110173623/http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/eruptioncriteria.cfm">Volcanic Explosivity Index</a>, the highest on the scale. This “super-eruption” would be one of the most powerful explosions in natural history. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00445-011-0536-2">Cerro Galán</a> in Argentina and <a href="http://pages.mtu.edu/~raman/papers/ChesnerGeology.pdf">Toba</a> in Indonesia are other examples of supervolcanoes.
“Yellowstone has erupted before. And it can erupt again. And if it erupts again, it can be catastrophic to our way of life,” said Gregg.
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<figcaption>Steam erupts from Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.</figcaption>
<cite>Dave Walsh/VW Pics/UIG/Getty Images</cite></figure>
Its last eruption was 664,000 years ago, before humans walked the earth, and was thousands of times more powerful than an average volcanic eruption, based on the geologic record. It formed a <a href="http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work/Calderas.html">caldera</a> larger than Rhode Island. Were it to erupt like that again, it would coat parts of the <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2014GC005469">US</a> in more than 5 feet of ash.
But the odds of such an event are very low, there are no indications one is coming, and the earth would likely provide us with some advance warning in form of tremors. “It’s not something that’s going to take us by surprise,” Gregg said.
The fearsome power of volcanoes have inspired awe and reverence for centuries, but they’ve also brought out some of humanity’s worst impulses.
The trope of virgins being tossed into a volcanic crater to appease gods is a <a href="https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/columns/straight-dope/article/13043717/straight-dope-were-virgins-ever-really-thrown-into-volcanoes">Hollywood myth</a>, but there is evidence of human sacrifice on volcanoes in antiquity.
<a href="https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/frozen-mummies-of-the-andes/">Mummified remains</a> of people, including children, have been found on the slopes of mountains in the Andes. Evidence shows that these people were ritually sacrificed by the Inca civilization.
“The high peaks of the Andes were sacred to the Inca,” researchers wrote in a 2007 study of <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/104/42/16456">frozen child mummies</a>. “[S]ome are active volcanoes, from which smoke, noise, and fire could be at times observed, phenomena easily interpretable within superstitious or religious frameworks. Human sacrifice at significant peaks reinforced reverence for locally sacred mountains.”
People have also sought to weaponize volcanoes. During World War II, there were serious proposals to <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=_ykDAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA103&ots=J0tyx4uhhH&dq=bombing+volcano&pg=PA104&hl=en#v=onepage&q=bombing%20volcano&f=false">bomb Japanese volcanoes</a> as both a material and a psychological tactic.
<figure class="e-image"><picture class="c-picture" data-cid="site/picture_element-1633067740_9599_94162" data-cdata='{"asset_id":10822801,"ratio":"*"}'><source srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/kdZweCrruiPQ439MycoNvucASHo=/0x0:620x765/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:620x765):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822801/Screen_Shot_2018_05_11_at_10.58.40_AM.png 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/S7OIji8540RucBtOEDf-oxWBmQk=/0x0:620x765/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:620x765):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822801/Screen_Shot_2018_05_11_at_10.58.40_AM.png 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/dd8RmS1TFcf_gXoqn4bniwbi1As=/0x0:620x765/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:620x765):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822801/Screen_Shot_2018_05_11_at_10.58.40_AM.png 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/54iTYEhw8-_QcR_scxpPpxdEFO8=/0x0:620x765/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:620x765):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822801/Screen_Shot_2018_05_11_at_10.58.40_AM.png 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_2Fg0YYmu26kqC9YdiZCR-L2StQ=/0x0:620x765/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:620x765):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822801/Screen_Shot_2018_05_11_at_10.58.40_AM.png 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/VCV5JG1IVz7RQ4V8_p25joGznr0=/0x0:620x765/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:620x765):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822801/Screen_Shot_2018_05_11_at_10.58.40_AM.png 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/6Qv4tXja74lq3bp4anDWEgcKzOU=/0x0:620x765/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:620x765):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822801/Screen_Shot_2018_05_11_at_10.58.40_AM.png 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/lOENWkUky0gbKBkDCsVsjwm2wwY=/0x0:620x765/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:620x765):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822801/Screen_Shot_2018_05_11_at_10.58.40_AM.png 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/eoIYyg_Vdu-9q9nqHpP9Bzf6Wa4=/0x0:620x765/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:620x765):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822801/Screen_Shot_2018_05_11_at_10.58.40_AM.png 1920w" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" type="image/webp" /> <img alt="" data-upload-width="620" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Ij9u0OImLteOFYY0uQMrTE79uNo=/0x0:620x765/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:620x765):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822801/Screen_Shot_2018_05_11_at_10.58.40_AM.png" srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/NcMWiAeEQm2vBHNPKB3jc8_e19A=/0x0:620x765/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:620x765):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822801/Screen_Shot_2018_05_11_at_10.58.40_AM.png 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/RzpKcdRaUAv-CsCVlqcwkCx0gV4=/0x0:620x765/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:620x765):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822801/Screen_Shot_2018_05_11_at_10.58.40_AM.png 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ydjwpVKZMa4LWfVCvNp1mQs6pGc=/0x0:620x765/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:620x765):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822801/Screen_Shot_2018_05_11_at_10.58.40_AM.png 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/HruTIJKlzmlo4kZuh2DqzTjHyKo=/0x0:620x765/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:620x765):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822801/Screen_Shot_2018_05_11_at_10.58.40_AM.png 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/XFySKqOl7SevXuaxLX3VAI90kBM=/0x0:620x765/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:620x765):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822801/Screen_Shot_2018_05_11_at_10.58.40_AM.png 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/KHmgy1YHomKF-_CFr-ts0KvsQ9I=/0x0:620x765/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:620x765):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822801/Screen_Shot_2018_05_11_at_10.58.40_AM.png 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Qnj9LEU1LlEFFbnNwzykOiAzCis=/0x0:620x765/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:620x765):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822801/Screen_Shot_2018_05_11_at_10.58.40_AM.png 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Qlk4qeqYwXp243l2bxBr4W8xXO4=/0x0:620x765/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:620x765):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822801/Screen_Shot_2018_05_11_at_10.58.40_AM.png 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/vbeaxGf2LuZX1DDjkahIDkXRvdo=/0x0:620x765/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:620x765):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822801/Screen_Shot_2018_05_11_at_10.58.40_AM.png 1920w" /></picture> <cite>Popular Science</cite></figure>
“Fear of volcanoes is so thoroughly ingrained in the minds of the Japanese that they have made gods of them,” wrote geology professor Harold Whitnall in <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=_ykDAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA103&ots=J0tyx4uhhH&dq=bombing+volcano&pg=PA104&hl=en#v=onepage&q=bombing%20volcano&f=false">Popular Science</a> in 1944. “I believe that explosives dropped down their throats may cause such a vomiting of lava and ash as to hasten the day of unconditional surrender.”
Thankfully, such gonzo proposals never came to fruition. But people may have accidentally triggered eruptions.
In 2006, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Java. A company drilling for natural gas 2 miles below the surface on the island saw a borehole suddenly lose pressure before filling with liquid. Drillers sealed the well, but soon hot, steaming mud began bubbling up around the site. This mud volcano, now known as the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/22/science/9-years-of-muck-mud-and-debate-in-java.html">Lusi mudflow</a>, soon sprayed steaming mud over nearly 3 square miles, killing 20 people and forcing 40,000 to evacuate.
<figure class="e-image"><picture class="c-picture" data-cid="site/picture_element-1633067740_1589_94163" data-cdata='{"asset_id":10822787,"ratio":"*"}'><source srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/b8Ep8n4typt8hBey1mYY5Vn1Ye0=/0x0:3998x2682/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:3998x2682):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822787/Lusi_Mud_Volcano.jpg 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Eqk99Uw7LmvSXu8hwqPtfg0bgF4=/0x0:3998x2682/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:3998x2682):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822787/Lusi_Mud_Volcano.jpg 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/R7t69Oc_-dXmXTPR9zguDZuHfcE=/0x0:3998x2682/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:3998x2682):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822787/Lusi_Mud_Volcano.jpg 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/1m2YUoElQyZHG3Ab7CewafdeoqE=/0x0:3998x2682/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:3998x2682):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822787/Lusi_Mud_Volcano.jpg 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Yc_ZUyslaz0m8Fs_yfFq86WXExs=/0x0:3998x2682/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:3998x2682):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822787/Lusi_Mud_Volcano.jpg 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wPs_TR-7eAZPNK6qP4BCD8RWrKo=/0x0:3998x2682/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:3998x2682):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822787/Lusi_Mud_Volcano.jpg 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/tR2DYYzrCrXW1Oe7O3fDnUPFscs=/0x0:3998x2682/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:3998x2682):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822787/Lusi_Mud_Volcano.jpg 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/KJ8y24XjkyOIL6uCl4HUgqxT3kM=/0x0:3998x2682/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:3998x2682):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822787/Lusi_Mud_Volcano.jpg 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/yAPKttyYjjiv0Y5NyDQA8n9h2JY=/0x0:3998x2682/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:3998x2682):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822787/Lusi_Mud_Volcano.jpg 1920w" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" type="image/webp" /> <img alt="The Lusi mud volcano continues to spew toxic mud since it started erupting in 2006 in Java, Indonesia." data-upload-width="3998" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/65h5LMVRQP5jq68yoI-k7so3Mhw=/0x0:3998x2682/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:3998x2682):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822787/Lusi_Mud_Volcano.jpg" srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/crlcL5rkPxuT8tv5wi3NiRh_oxc=/0x0:3998x2682/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:3998x2682):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822787/Lusi_Mud_Volcano.jpg 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/fUsUoVJdWwRIWiqLrM5ldJq4EYk=/0x0:3998x2682/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:3998x2682):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822787/Lusi_Mud_Volcano.jpg 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/AB4L4fM81IIXNOohx_ljuWv5iQE=/0x0:3998x2682/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:3998x2682):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822787/Lusi_Mud_Volcano.jpg 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/UcCakmth0xUgKJ11_oPOmrBQVtc=/0x0:3998x2682/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:3998x2682):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822787/Lusi_Mud_Volcano.jpg 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/0FdNE-O0bM9YS5ATt2K47eInzT4=/0x0:3998x2682/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:3998x2682):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822787/Lusi_Mud_Volcano.jpg 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/djDXFTwggiZCwQkrdjBTCPIeYFs=/0x0:3998x2682/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:3998x2682):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822787/Lusi_Mud_Volcano.jpg 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/HKxTo5sxmZAOHpHTPHGpPS4z2LU=/0x0:3998x2682/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:3998x2682):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822787/Lusi_Mud_Volcano.jpg 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/389OYjtTXH8mDbsR7X1MOQlp5iY=/0x0:3998x2682/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:3998x2682):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822787/Lusi_Mud_Volcano.jpg 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/obLDTyL6b3mMBKMAXN3QiZuf20w=/0x0:3998x2682/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:3998x2682):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10822787/Lusi_Mud_Volcano.jpg 1920w" /></picture>
<figcaption>The Lusi mud volcano continues to spew toxic mud since it started erupting in 2006 in Java, Indonesia.</figcaption>
<cite>Adek Berry/AFP/Getty Images</cite></figure>
Scientists are still debating whether the eruption was caused by humans or by natural activity.
Another bad idea is throwing garbage into volcanoes. Aside from being horrendously offensive (many volcanoes are <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/10/what-makes-a-volcano-sacred/413203/">considered sacred</a>), it’s expensive to truck waste to lava flows, it’s often <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2008/01/should_we_throw_hazardous_waste_into_volcanoes.html">not hot enough</a> to properly incinerate waste, it can release hazardous chemicals into the air, and the trash itself can trigger an explosive reaction, as you can see in this clip of a trash bag being thrown into Ethiopia’s <a href="https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=221080">Erta Ale</a> volcano:
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So while the awesome fury of volcanoes continues to make thrill seekers (<a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/disrespectful-idiot-thrill-seeker-films-11307397">idiots</a>) tempt fate, the most prudent course of action is to keep a safe distance.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/5/11/17327564/volcano-eruption-kilauea-hawaii-lava-science-7-things">https://www.vox.com/2018/5/11/17327564/volcano-eruption-kilauea-hawaii-lava-science-7-things</a>

vox Kilauea is erupting in Hawaii. Here are 7 things to know about volcanoes.

Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano, one of the state’s youngest and rowdiest, is erupting again for the first time in a year. The US Geological Survey...

The Vox Book Club is spending October reading and talking to Lauren Groff

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The Vox Book Club is linking to <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=66960X1516588&xs=1&url=https://bookshop.org/shop/voxbookclub&referrer=vox.com&sref=https://www.vox.com/culture/21423100/idiot-elif-batuman-semiotics-language-word-games&xcust=___vx__p_22416548__t_w__r_vox.com/vox-book-club__d" has-subtag="true" data-cdata='{"rewritten_url":"https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=66960X1516588\u0026xs=1\u0026url=https://bookshop.org/shop/voxbookclub\u0026referrer=vox.com\u0026sref=https://www.vox.com/culture/21423100/idiot-elif-batuman-semiotics-language-word-games\u0026xcust=___vx__p_22466597__m_m-placeholder__s_s-placeholder__t_w__c_c-placeholder__r_vox.com/vox-book-club__d_d-placeholder","subtag_max_length":50,"subtag_delim_length":3,"subtag_key":"xcust","subtag_data":{"id":"66960X1516588","xs":"1","url":"https://bookshop.org/shop/voxbookclub","referrer":"vox.com","sref":"https://www.vox.com/culture/21423100/idiot-elif-batuman-semiotics-language-word-games","xcust":"___vx__p_22466597__m_m-placeholder__s_s-placeholder__t_w__c_c-placeholder__r_vox.com/vox-book-club__d_d-placeholder"},"encode_subtag":false}'>Bookshop.org</a> to support local and independent booksellers.
Here is a question for you: Would you like to read a book about witchy medieval nuns creating a separatist women-only commune in 12th-century England and then writing poetry and bathing in lakes at night?
If your answer is no, well, I must urge you to reconsider. But if your answer is yes, welcome! Do I have a book for you.
This October, the <a href="https://www.vox.com/vox-book-club">Vox Book Club</a> is reading Lauren Groff’s <a href="https://bookshop.org/books/matrix-9780593459652/9781594634499">Matrix</a>, the title of which refers not to the action movie franchise but to the Latin word for mother or uterus. Matrix revolves around the real-life Marie de France, the first French female poet, about whom very little is known — leaving plenty of room for fiction to fill in the gaps.
Groff imagines Marie as a gawky, willful young woman who followed English queen Eleanor of Aquitaine from France to England. Spurned by Eleanor, Marie becomes an abbess at a secluded country abbey and eventually rises to become a powerful political figure in her own right, turning her abbey into an isolated safe harbor for the women she takes under her protection.
Matrix is a rich, beautifully written novel about ambition and desire, and also witchy separatist medieval nuns. We’ll have plenty to discuss here on the site. Then, at the end of the month, we’ll meet with Groff live on Zoom to discuss the whole thing, and you can join us. <a href="https://voxmediaevents.com/vox-book-club-matrix">RSVP here</a>, and in the meantime, <a href="https://confirmsubscription.com/h/d/533DCA62F59CA120">subscribe to the Vox Book Club newsletter</a> to make sure you don’t miss anything.
Friday, October 15: Discussion post on <a href="https://bookshop.org/books/matrix-9780593459652/9781594634499">Matrix</a> published to Vox.com
Thursday, October 28, 5 pm: Virtual live event with author Lauren Groff. You can <a href="https://voxmediaevents.com/vox-book-club-matrix">RSVP here</a>, and reader questions are encouraged!
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/22702556/vox-book-club-matrix-lauren-groff">https://www.vox.com/culture/22702556/vox-book-club-matrix-lauren-groff</a>

vox The Vox Book Club is spending October reading and talking to Lauren Groff

The Vox Book Club is linking to Bookshop.org to support local and independent booksellers. Here is a question for you: Would you like to...

Britney Spears’s conservatorship isn’t over. Yet.

<div><img class="ff-og-image-inserted" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/H5UIWBE1Jd5eUFCiDyFEfQoKj4k=/0x0:4734x2479/fit-in/1200x630/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22890922/1235590510.jpg" /></div>
A judge has officially ruled to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/29/arts/music/britney-spears-court-decision-conservatorship.html">suspend Jamie Spears</a> as the conservator of Britney Spears’s finances, marking a major victory in Britney Spears’s ongoing battle <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/22565683/britney-spears-conservatorship-testimony">to regain control of her life</a>.
Since 2008, the 39-year-old pop icon has lived under a conservatorship that leaves her unable to legally make decisions about her own life, including when to work, how to spend her money, and even whether she can have children. Instead, her father Jamie has been calling the shots, leading him to <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/american-chronicles/britney-spears-conservatorship-nightmare">reportedly adopt as a mantra</a> the phrase, “I am Britney Spears.”
On September 29, Los Angeles Judge Brenda Penny replaced Jamie Spears as conservator of Britney’s estate and replaced him with California attorney John Zabel, as requested by Britney through her lawyer. Leaving Jamie in place as conservator, Penny said, was “not tenable.”
Jamie Spears agreed to step down from the conservatorship earlier this summer. In September, he filed a petition asking to end it entirely, citing <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/22547857/britney-spears-speaks-court-testimony-conservatorship-free-britney">Britney’s increasingly public opposition to the arrangement</a>, which reached a climax in her explosive public testimony before the court this past June. At the September 29 hearing, Jamie’s lawyer argued that rather than suspend Jamie as conservator, the court should simply terminate the conservatorship immediately.
Britney’s lawyer Mathew Rosengart, however, pushed to suspend his client’s father and has said he will wait to petition for the end of the conservatorship until later this fall. There’s a basic strategic reason for that decision: If the arrangement ends now, with Jamie stepping down voluntarily, he would not be required to turn over records, including financial documents, from his 13 years as conservator.
Rosengart has repeatedly called for investigations into Jamie’s conduct, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/29/arts/music/britney-spears-conservatorship-hearing.html">calling his mismanagement of Britney’s estate</a> “evident and ongoing” and arguing that Jamie is only seeking to end the conservatorship due to the extreme public scrutiny as well as to avoid further investigation. “What he’s afraid of is the revelation of his corruption,” Rosengart said in court Wednesday. <a href="https://variety.com/2021/music/news/britney-spears-full-statement-conservatorship-1235003940/">During Britney’s own testimony in June</a>, she told the court she believed her father’s treatment of her constituted conservatorship abuse. “My dad, and anyone involved in this conservatorship, and my management who played a huge role in punishing me when I said no,” she said, addressing Penny directly. “Ma’am, they should be in jail.”
As the outcry over Britney’s conservatorship grows louder, more and more people involved in the conservatorship are coming forward to share their doubts about the situation publicly. Most damningly, in Controlling Britney Spears, a New York Times documentary recently released on Hulu, a former staffer for a security company Jamie Spears hired alleges that the firm secretly <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/24/arts/music/britney-spears-conservatorship-documentary.html">placed an audio listening device in Britney’s bedroom and monitored her text messages</a>. In the Netflix documentary Britney vs. Spears, released Tuesday, an anonymous source reveals long-rumored court documents showing that Britney was originally placed under conservatorship with <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/does-britney-spears-have-dementia-a-new-bbc-documentarys-bombshell-claim">a diagnosis of dementia</a> — a bold claim to make about any 27-year-old, particularly one who is also the face of a multimillion-dollar media empire.
It’s unclear whether the courts were aware of the extent to which Britney’s conservators allegedly surveilled her life. During the September 29 hearing, Rosengart called for an investigation into those claims.
Rosengart also asked the court to reconvene in 30 to 45 days to discuss “an orderly transition” out of the conservatorship. The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/29/arts/music/conservatorship-nov-12-britney-spears.html">next hearing in Britney’s case</a> is scheduled for November 12.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/22702281/britney-spears-conservatorship-jamie-spears-suspended">https://www.vox.com/culture/22702281/britney-spears-conservatorship-jamie-spears-suspended</a>

vox Britney Spears’s conservatorship isn’t over. Yet.

A judge has officially ruled to suspend Jamie Spears as the conservator of Britney Spears’s finances, marking a major victory in Britney S...