Conclusion Chapter 11.

People's reactions to disasters are very different. Some panic and behave wildly, in ways which are quite unintelligent. Others pretend that the disaster is not happening, and they behave as if everything is normal. Others show great self-control, and they are probably the people who are most helpful in the middle of disaster.

After disasters, many people give money to help the victims. Some people may want to spend the money on making changes to prevent new disasters. Others may want to spend the money on things to help them remember the dead - or even on prizes for the rescuers.

One of the clearest lessons to be learned from disasters is the danger of complacency. It is so easy to think that a disaster will not happen because it has not yet happened. This was one of the problems with the Exxon Valdez.

Disasters also show us how dangerous science and scientific experiments may be. At Bhopal the scientists were not careful enough, and at Chernobyl they were doing a dangerous experiment. People were complacent about the dangers that they were playing with.

Environmental disasters, such as Chernobyl and the Exxon Valdez raise the question of how we find the energy and power that we need. As a result of those disasters, governments and scientists have started to think seriously about finding different types of energy. Those disasters caused great damage to the environment, but they were a turning-point in people's opinions about the energy industry and the environment.

Natural disasters, such as earthquakes, tornadoes and volcanoes will always be a danger for people living in certain parts of the world. Warnings can be given, preparations can be made, but we cannot be completely protected from the full force of nature.