It will be interesting to look back in a few years to understand the full repercussions of the terrible Tsunami that overwhelmed Japan this past week. While a 9.0 magnitude earthquake is bad enough, the massive wave of water that followed has caused an almost unheard of amount of damage and loss of life in modern times. Despite how much we’ve advanced, it is amazing to see how we pale in comparison to nature still.

Along with the loss of human life Japan is now suffering from damaged nuclear reactors. How much damage will these do locally if they are unable to be brought under control? What will the effects be decades from now on those local to the reactors? What is the financial toll on Japan? Will it destroy their economy in the short term and with the world still tenuous financially could this send us all tumbling back? The loss of life…who knows what we lost at the moment? Perhaps a small child was destined to become the next Mozart. Perhaps we lost a leading scientist. No one knows at the moment and perhaps no one ever will. Tragedy almost feels like too light a word to describe what happened.