Thanks. That was an interesting read.
A literal translation of a Muslim proverb says, "Man proposes, God disposes." And it would seem this applies to what has happened to the exploration for gas in that part of Indonesia.
To be sure a new equilibrium or balance will be established as is the case with all events in nature in accordance with the Second Law of Thermodynamics. In other words, the mud flows will come to an end, no matter how endless they appear to be at this time.
Unlike a massive oil spill, a gigantic non-toxic "volcanic mud eruption" is not expected to cause immense or long-term
damage to the environment. Also, as the drilling company is an Indonesian company (Lapindo Brantas) and not foreign, the public outbursts and protests will die down, sooner than later, and especially if the victims receive some form of aid or compensation. I am not surprised if they are, by drawing the world's attention to their plight, hoping to receive some foreign aid.
That part of the world deserves our sympathy: it had been visited upon by three tsunamis since December 25th 2004, an earthquake, and now this.
It might interest you to know that some folks in SE Asia believe the Indonesians in Acheh, on the big island of Sumatra, Indonesia, were punished with the famous destructive tsunami of December 25th 2004 for not allowing a group of Christians to celebrate Christmas in the city and forcing them, instead, to do so up a nearby mountain. As Providence (or Serendipity) would have it, the displaced Christians survived while thousands of Muslims perished beneath the waves.
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