Time online reports that a “number” of foreign tourists were killed by the tsunami earlier this week in Phuket, Thailand.
Phuket Beach is, of course, a notorious center of child prostitution. Thus, one cannot help but speculate that the world is better off without some of these “foreign tourists”, a tiny bit of good news in what is otherwise an unimaginable tragedy.
Meanwhile, in the Pitchavaram and Muthupet region on the Indian coastline, it was proven that mangrove trees can mitigate the damage from the tsunamis. Conservation of mangroves has been a public/private sector initiative in India for the past 14 years, and precisely for this reason: to act as a buffer between the sea and coastal communities.