We can boil water with natural gas just fine, and without all the destructive effects that using coal causes.

FORBES: Maine Wind Project Wins $102 Million U.S. Loan Guarantee

But human activity and mismanagement undoubtedly intensified the destructive effects of the floods.

CNN: FIGHTING FLOODS

"We have reached the scary point where the dysfunctional behavior of financial markets has destructive effects on the financial system and--much worse--on the real economies, " writes New York University economics professor and Forbes.com columnist Nouriel Roubini.

FORBES: Banking

The quake, which hit about 31 miles inland from the Pacific coast, wouldn't generate a destructive tsunami, but there was the possibility of some local tsunami effects, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

WSJ: Earthquake Rocks Mexico