The end is nigh. Again.

I feel a certain kinship with the Jehovah’s Witnesses. They believe the end of the world is imminent, while I wish it had already happened. To them, anyway.

They invited me to a talk, to discuss whether God was still in control. Well, he’s not in control of me, so I didn’t go.

The discussion was to centre on the idea that the tsunamis, the earthquakes, and similar terrible events were somehow necessary. To a group who want Armageddon more than anything, they must seem so.

Well, these things are necessary, but not for Armageddon. Exactly the opposite, in fact. They are necessary to life on Earth.

We orbit a sun that gives out light and heat. It also emits radiation, and charged particles that could sterilise the surface of our planet.

Fortunately, we have a magnetic field around the planet that deflects these nasties. Some make it into the atmosphere, at the poles, and give rise to the aurorae. These pretty displays are the ending of sunbeams that would destroy us if they hit full-on.

So the planet produces magnetism. It does this because it has a solid metal core surrounded by molten metal. The solid core floats in the molten metal, and their rates of rotation differ. This makes the whole planet a giant dynamo, which produces the magnetism that keeps us alive.

The downside of this is that the crust, on which we live, is also floating. It cracks and moves, some parts slide under other parts, some pieces collide.

That’s what causes earthquakes and other disasters. Volcanoes build land, to replace what the rain washes into the sea. We need rain. We also need land. The truth is, we need volcanoes. Of course, it’s best not to actually live on one.

We need that magnetic field, so we also need to learn to live with the cracks and rumbles that are a consequence of its production.

The simple fact is, we can’t live without them.