By Grace Liew and Kate Dailey
The photos of smoke from the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption in Iceland may be beautiful, but the consequences of the event are potentially devastating. Already, global flight patterns have been disrupted and noxious gases have been released, and acid rain and damage to local water supplies remain possibilities. Experts worry that the explosions might trigger further eruptions in nearby volcanoes. But this eruption isn’t nearly as bad as some of history’s biggest blasts.