Mother Nature will always be the boss.

Despite all of mankind’s technological advances, historical achievements and breathtaking feats of construction, we are frequently reminded who is really in charge and how helpless we truly are when civilization breaks down.

Hurricane Florence continues to batter the East Coast especially North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Although the storm wasn’t as powerful as it was originally expected to be, that is like saying you were happy to get hit by a bus rather than a train.

Millions of Americans have been impacted, with several fatalities already reported and we are holding our breath and praying for it to pass.

The rest of us will be feeling the after-affects soon enough.

Here in Central Kentucky we will be dealing with more heavy rain, flooding and dangerous wind.

It is great that modern technology allows us to predict, forecast and prepare for natural disasters and extreme weather better than ever.

And it is not even enough.

We still seem small and insignificant in the face of a storm that creates 50-foot waves and 100+ mph winds while dropping 30 to 40 inches of rain in a matter of days.

Really, there is nothing we can do other than to use all the tools at our disposal to brace for Mother Nature‘s wrath.

We also have to continue to use everything we have to monitor and protect our planet.

The first step is to stop mixing politics and science. This is a case where the two should be mutually exclusive to one another.

There are no alternative facts when it comes to the impact modern civilization has on earth. That is not to imply that natural disasters and weather phenomena are caused by humans, but simply emphasizing the point that we impact the world in which we live.

And, despite all those aforementioned technological advances, we still have not found another planet that can support life like ours does.

We aren’t going to get a second chance or a do-over. This is the only planet we have and we must remember its value and respect its power.

Michael Caldwell is publisher of The Winchester Sun and Winchester Living magazine. He can be reached at (859) 759-0095 or by email at mike.caldwell@winchestersun.com.