More Gin for Pele?
Kilauea, the volcano menacing Hawaii, has been a welcome diversion from the daily mass murders, Trump tirades and political polemics we’ve all been getting accustomed to as part of our consciousness in the Land of the Free. It takes a huge natural disaster to push those out of the headlines, I guess, but thank you, Pele. Nice to have a breather.
Apparently, not so much on the Big Island where now the danger is from toxic gases belched up by the angry god. The locals have been leaving booze along the highway toward the volcano, mostly gin which is reputed to be a preference, with or without tonic or vermouth, but this did little to abate the magma flow and now the scientists are talking about explosive eruptions and poison gases. Maybe a better quality gin, guys….
Many years ago I had one of those early coil top refrigerators and miracle of miracles, it still worked but I made the mistake of moving it out to my shop back in the woods and managed to inadvertently puncture one of the copper coils. The thing began hissing as coolant escaped and I began to panic as I considered something fast that would seal it back up. Immediately, however, I noticed the leaves downwind curling and dying in what apparently was a toxic drifting cloud of death and then my nose began to smart and I was forced to retreat to a safe distance upwind from the scene.
Turns out the coolant was sulfur dioxide or something similar, which, when combined with H20 becomes sulfuric acid. The plants provided all the water necessary, a vegetable suicide. Me, I stayed away until the hissing stopped the next day. For a hundred feet or so all the plants in the dead zone were curled up and killed. It looked like Syria after the mustard gas. And, of course, I was the perpetrator.
Lately the media has been playing up the Ring of Fire, all our volcanoes that will be next, take cover, take precautions, take out insurance, stock up on gin. Course, chances are good it won’t be in the next century or two, but hey, beats thinking about the Mueller investigation, don’tcha think? Meanwhile, we’re all getting a cheap chemistry lesson.
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Tags: My Poison Fridge, Toxic Volcanic Gas, Volcano Erupts
I was hoping Rick G, might chime in and give us an update as a man on the ground over there.
My only question about the Mueller investigation right now is when the next indictments are coming down.
It’s been something Rosemary & Skeeter. I’m about 10-15 miles from the new fissures oozing acres of lava (we have a bumper sticker here: Big Island, Gettin’ Bigger Every Day). Two nights ago the blasts from the explosions intensified to a point where I couldn’t sleep. There are people still in their homes a mile or two from the outbreaks, I don’t know how they do it.
Halemaumau exploded deep within its crater several times so far, sending ash 20,000 feet into the air, and larger chunks thankfully a much shorter distance away. None have been THE BIG ONE geologists say is possible during this event, yet. I’m about 20 miles from Halemaumau, generally upwind, and expect to be OK from that part of the actiivity as well.
Many residents to the south have experienced the large scale version of Skeeter’s refrigerator gas leak though. Plenty of brown, dead foliage across the landscape. Miles downwind from the fissures, some farmers have lost entire crops to the acid rain falling through sulfur dioxide as it rises continuously in clouds from the earth.
At the moment, there’s no end in sight.