Which brings us back to Eyjafjallajökull. Like all of Iceland’s volcanoes, this one is fueled by the tectonic spreading of the Atlantic seafloor and a “hotspot” of upwelling material from the Earth’s deep interior. This confluence of geology has caused periodic eruptions for more than ten thousand years; on human timescales, there’s nothing new about it. On the other hand, only in the last half-century has flinging winged tubes of steel and aluminum through the air become a common method of high-speed transportation. Mix this development with increasingly powerful and ubiquitous information technology and telecommunications networks, stir, and at a stroke all is transformed. The interdependent biological, technological, and cultural systems of the planet now freely mingle and tightly meld in a globalized milieu, with surprising effects. Leaving its volcanic ash aside, just the pronunciation of Eyjafjallajökull’s Icelandic name placed international news organizations into momentary disarray. In a merging world, nothing is too trivial to gain significance through disruption.
via seedmagazine.com