The Ann Arbor area suffered a torrential downpour last night -- so bad that my yard looks like a swamp, and I'm having to take precautions about the possibility of more water:

A state of emergency was declared in Dundee Township and the village of Dundee. A help line was set up for anyone who needs assistance and can be reached at 734-529-2277.

Officials believe it was the only tornado to touch down overnight, Dodson said.

The system of storms - which lasted from about 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. - dumped 2 inches of rain onto the Ann Arbor area, leading to widespread flooding, Dodson said.

A parking lot was flooded near Oak Valley and Lohr roads in Pittsfield Township.

At 2:30 a.m., meteorologists received reports of flooding at Packard and Eisenhower and M-14 and US-23. A flash flood warning was issued Saturday night.

"We're seeing a lot of flooding, and the storms mostly moved along I-94 from Ann Arbor to Detroit," Dodson said.

The question, of course, is which malefactor to blame. Nature? God? The "laws" of nature and of nature's god or gods? A particular god like Tlaloc the Rain God?

Hey, don't laugh. He looks plenty guilty to me!

How about Global Warming? Or BP and Halliburton? As man is increasingly being seen as the ultimate cause of all occurrences (natural or otherwise), and as man is definitely not natural, then pretty soon any natural occurrence will be either the fault of man, and barring proof of that, as nature's way of striking back -- to retaliate or warn us that we have pissed off the planet, and are being punished for it.

There are people who think this way, and perhaps I should call them "envirofundamentalists," for they remind me of some of the religious fundamentalists who see the direct hand of God in every occurrence. There is little difference between saying that God intended a hurricane to be punishment or that nature is sending a warning to man. All that's needed is a blank to fill in. God is pissed off about abortion, or Nature is pissed off about the Deepwater Horizon spill. Etc.

Gotta blame someone.

Blame is a human need -- a coping mechanism which offers a way out, and an emotionally satisfying release. It is not emotionally satisfying to simply observe that "these things just happen."

Perhaps I should try going out there and shaking my fist at the sky.

(The next time the lightning starts, of course....)

MORE: While I really hadn't had time to fully digest the implications, an incisive comment from Veeshir to another post makes me think that last night's horrendous storm might in fact be my fault!

So Eric, you hate Gaia, is that it?

You need to understand, once a claim of how evil people are destroying the environment is made you're supposed to accept it and act as if it's true and work to fix it, even if such a fix dramatically lowers the standard of living of everybody (poor hardest hit).

Geez, it's like you haven't learned anything from Silent Spring and global warmmongering.

And if Veeshir is right and I hate Gaia, then why wouldn't Gaia punish me? (Or, you know, send Tlaloc to do the dirty work....)

OK, I did it! So how do I turn myself in?