Sandbox

Weekly inspiration #32: A clear blue sky of ashes

April 18th, 2010 by Sandbox

While the icelandic volcano continues to spit its ashes, planes are grounded in whole Europe with the exception of Italy, Portugal and Spain. And although KLM and a couple of other companies are currently running independant tests about the impact of the cloud on their machines, the air lockdown is now likely to last until the end of week, some say that it might even be much longer (the last time Eyjafjallajökull erupted – in 1821 – it lasted over a year!).

Conspirationists have come up with theories about Iceland or the NASA hiding a damaged UFO, but the overall agreement is that the only one to blame is Nature: we just have to accept the current situation and wait until it resolves.

The dark side

Of course, the negative impact of the air traffic ban is huge:
- international businesses are severely slowed down
- several airlines might run into new financial difficulties
- the tourist industry is going to suffer
- air freight is suspended causing shortages of perishable goods usually imported by plane such as fruit, vegetables, flowers, etc.
- it affects many people personally, who had to renounce to their holidays (or can’t get back to work), there are many stories of missed weddings and important reunions on Twitter

Why we love the cloud

But despite all this, we shouldn’t close the eyes on the many positive things that this unprecedented situation is creating:

A quiet blue sky

First of all, look at the sky: especially over London, many can’t recall having seen such a beautiful clear blue sky. The air is totally quiet. That is a thing worth seeing once in a life and that forces humility.

Amazing initiatives

Some people don’t want to just wait for the cloud to vanish, they are transforming the problem into an opportunity. An example: Sandbox member Nathaniel Whittemore managed to organize a TEDxVolcano event in London tonight, with some very inspiring speakers currently stuck in London. Everything has been organized within 36 hours (getting a TEDx licence, booking a location, finding speakers & sponsors, promotin the event on Techcrunch). We are co-organizing the event thanks to our London-based team member Christian Busch (who was supposed to fly out with me today for a client meeting).

Solidarity

The ash cloud binds new ties between people. Some are offering shelter to travelers who can’t find or afford a hotel. Facebook groups are popping up, where strangers join efforts for getting back home quicker and at a lower cost (renting cars, buses or boats together).

Creativity

Constraints foster creativity: Norwegian Prime Minister governs the country from New York with an iPad, Twitter users came up with the word “ashtag“, a band composed the “Ash Cloud Song“. If you hear about interesting stories how this ash cloud makes people more creative, list them below.

Learnings and imagination

The ash cloud gives us a chance to imagine what a world without planes would be like. As recent writer-in-residence at Heathrow airport Alain de Botton puts it in beautiful post, “In a future world without aeroplanes, children would gather at the feet of old men, and hear extraordinary tales of a mythic time when vast and complicated machines the size of several houses used to take to the skies and fly high over the Himalayas and the Tasman Sea.”

Seeing how dependable we are from air travel is also a chance for us to think about our relation to the Earth: we often think ourselves as almighty, but Nature is always stronger. And that is certainly a lesson we should take.