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Throughout recorded history, people have tried to control the elements in every which way they can.  We plant trees to block the wind, build levees to hold back rising river water and dikes to hold back the seas.  We build skyscrapers that defy gravity, winds and earthquakes. For all of this ingenuity, however, we sometimes don't do a very good job.  When our efforts to control the elements fail on a large scale, we witness catastrophes that