Russell McMahon wrote:
> Mt St Helens  is a mere pimple.

I geologic terms, yes, but not in recent human history.  Mt St Helens was a
relatively large eruption on the scale of a few 100 years.  It's impact was
minor only because there was little population in its direct devistation
path.  Imagine the impact if the blast and prevailing winds had aimed at
Seattle instead of eastwards.

> Krakatoa a wannabe Johny come lately.

The 18xx eruption was probably the largest in the last 200 years, although
still small on a scale of 100s of thousands of years.  However the eruption
in 5xx AD may have been the largest in recorded human history.  There is
some evidence that this eruption caused the Sunda Straight and separated
Java and Sumatra which may previously have been a single island.  While the
evidence is not certain, there is a good chance that it was the cause of
nearly a decade of winter weather as recorded by several civilizations all
around the world at the time and captured in tree rings, ice cores, and the
like.

Now consider the various lurking giants that tend to erupt on much longer
time scales with much higher energies.  They are scattered all around the
world, with some in New Zealand as you mentioned.  The Yellowstone Caldera
in Wyoming and the Mammoth Crater in California are two more.  Both show
obvious signs of geothermal activity on the ground.

> And if it went bang again, it would be nothing compared to what a
> nuclear incident would do to us.

I'm not going to enter in the pro/con nuclear discussion, but this statement
was made completely without support.  If all of New Zealand gets wiped out,
I imagine it matters little to the New Zealanders how, only to the rest of
the world what the spillover effects would be.  There are quite a few
volcanic scenarios that would be a lot worse to everyone else than a nuclear
accident.  Think of Chernobyl.  A very nasty industrial accident with long
term consequences to be sure, but small in comparison to various quite
reasonable volcanic scenarios.  Again I'm not arguing pro/con nuclear, just
objecting to unfounded statements.


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