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I'm grateful we weren't anywhere near here when the 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked New Zealand just after midnight on Monday. We left the country less than 24 hours before the earthquake occurred. My heart goes out to everyone affected. The people of New Zealand are some of the friendliest, warmest, most wonderful people in any place I've travelled. Sending big hugs and love. Earthquakes have become one of my greater fears in the mountains. I can't imagine how scary it would be on a glaciated mountain during a quake. It gives me nightmares to think about. I worry about our future in the USA under a Trump administration, that earthquakes will become more common as we mine deeper, dam more rivers, and inject more toxic liquid into the ground to extract natural gas. "In the past, people never thought that human activity could have such a big impact, but it can," says scientist Christian Klose, a geohazards researcher who estimates that 25% of Britain's recorded seismic events were caused by people. As I read more about how humans can trigger earthquakes, (link to further reading in profile) it makes me more passionate to stand up to fossil fuel companies, to hold them accountable for the damage that ensues when things go wrong. I believe that we, as humans, are clever monkeys and can find better ways to meet our growing needs for minerals and energy. We've adapted in incredible ways before, and we can do it again. My vision for the environmental movement isn't about doing less and restricting the growth of technology, it's about doing more. To say that we can't progress without more mining is insulting to the ingenuity of humankind. #skiaoraki16