Swarms of killer bees, lava shooting out of city drains, skyscrapers enveloped in flames, tornadoes ripping up houses, viruses escaping from laboratories, meteors on collision paths with the Earth, computers running amok and post-nuclear devastation are common themes in blockbuster Hollywood films.

Their popularity testifies to a deep-seated fear that the fragility of human society cannot survive the might of nature. It is a modern-day homage to all-powerful natural forces that once inspired societies to create pantheons of gods that needed appeasement and from whom redemption could be granted.

Giant sea monsters featured prominently in these ancient beliefs, such as Falak in a Thousand and One Nights, the Mesopotamian Tiamat, the Greek Hydra, the Native American Unk Cekula, and the Leviathan mentioned in the Old Testament.

Juracán controlled the weather, particularly hurricanes, for Caribbean people. Isfet and Ma’at maintained the balance between chaos and harmony for Ancient Egyptians, just as the twins Angra Mainyu and Spenta Mainyu did for ancient Zoroastrians.

All religions practised today give a place of prominence to the power of nature. God is shown to work through nature, whether with gifts for sustenance, or sending fire and brimstone, massive floods or earthquakes to vanquish civilisations.

Disaster movies were very much a product of the 1970s. It was an era of inventive gadgets, including personal computers, robots, video games, mobile phones, cassettes and VCRs, but also of scientific developments that dared to challenge nature, such as in vitro fertilisation, facelifts, supersonic air travel, space probes to distant planets and genetic engineering.

Urban life, to a great extent, creates the impression of nature tamed. Groomed parks and gardens replace jungles and savannas, architectural design protects people from the elements, and supermarkets replace the hunter-gatherer.

Yet, human society is completely dependent on nature. Nature provides the raw materials for the construction of cities, for clothing, for weaponry, utensils and medicines. Energy comes from fossil fuels, hydropower, wind or the sun. The geography of our surroundings — mountains, deserts, forests, plains or coastal areas — dictate our lifestyles, clothing, food and livelihood.

Forests are the source for most medicines, although only five to 15 percent out of the existing 250,000 plant species have been studied by pharmacologists, while each year more than 30 million acres of tropical forests are cleared. Out of the estimated 10 million animal and marine species, many have provided life-saving drugs but, on average, one cure is discovered from every 20,000 species. Climatologists ring alarm bells as humans erode these resources.

David Attenborough is a one-man army who, for eight decades, has made meticulously researched documentaries, hoping the millions who have seen them will understand the wonders of nature and be inspired to preserve them.

Behind the scenes are scientists who are determined to bend nature for human benefit and economic, and sometimes political, gain. Using nuclear fission to create deadly weapons is probably the most notorious, but there is also the reprogramming of cells to defy ageing, genetic engineering of plants and animals and human cloning. Cloud seeding, which involves shooting salt, silver iodide or titanium dioxide into clouds to force rainfall, has been used in many countries. It has been held responsible for flooding and, more importantly, for taking away rain meant for other countries.

Nikolai Tesla, known for a dizzying array of inventions in use today, from the radio and alternating current to remote-controlled boats and wireless transmission of electricity, believed he could achieve the mastery of man over nature, for “human welfare and service to Mother Nature.”

Most of his ideas for inventions were seized upon his death by the American government, and remain a well-guarded secret. This is understandable in the light of his words: “Man could alter the size of this planet, control its seasons and guide it along with any path he might choose through the depths of the universe. He could make planets collide and produce his suns and stars, his heat and light. He could originate and develop life in all its infinite forms.”

Regardless of such wild claims, in reality, humans are more shaped by nature than they are able to exert control over it. Docile rivers turn into raging torrents, making short work of human habitation and even of massive dams erected to control its waters. Tectonic plates move ever so slightly and roads, bridges and skyscrapers crumble in seconds.

The earth is 4.6 billion years old and has recovered from five near-extinctions. Humans have been on earth less than 0.01 percent of Earth’s timeline, during which time they have polluted and depleted resources essential for their survival. While the Earth will morph and survive, humans would have destroyed their own ability to live on Earth.

Durriya Kazi is a Karachi-based artist.

She may be reached at durriyakazi1918@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, EOS, October 16th, 2022