The benefits of living near volcanoes outweigh the costs. I do not agree with this statement.

Volcanoes are very dangerous and unpredictable entities and as such it is hard to predict when they may erupt and destroy everything around it, including the residents and the residents houses. Living near volcanoes is extremely dangerous because the volcano may erupt, resulting in a loss of ones life. This danger is present even for extinct volcanoes, because there is always a chance of eruption as shown by the sudden eruption in 2006 of Fourpeaked Mountain, Alaska, which had been thought extinct due to its lying dormant for over 10,000 years. Volcano eruptions have taken thousands of lives. For example, the 2010 Mount Merapi volcano eruption took the lives of 353 people. This shows that living near a volcano, even a dormant or extinct one, might cause loss of ones life when or if the volcano erupts. Therefore, in the event of an eruption, the residents who live near the erupting volcano might lose their lives so it is better not to take a risk. Also, residents who have made their home near a volcano might lose all their properties or assets in the event of an eruption. In the Mount Merapi eruption, many houses were destroyed and the ruins covered in white ash. Therefore, living near a volcano presents a risk of having the residents houses and assets, which they have worked hard to acquire and build, destroyed by an eruption and it is thus safer not to live near a volcano so as to not have any risk of losing ones properties. However, living near volcanoes does have advantages. Volcanic materials ultimately break down and weather to form some of the most fertile soils on Earth, cultivation of which has produced abundant food and fostered civilizations. Some of the best rice-growing regions of Indonesia are in the shadow of active volcanoes, such as the Banda Islands in Maluku. Therefore, while living near a volcano, there is fertile soil for successful agriculture. When the residents crops are planted on the fertile soil, they become healthier and more resistant to pests and diseases, and so the crops have a higher chance of surviving and thriving. The residents can thus have stronger and healthier crops to sell. Therefore, one of the main advantages of living near a volcano is the availability of very fertile soil which enables farmers to plant healthy crops. Also, geothermal energy can be harnessed from the natural heat produced by active volcanoes or geologically young inactive volcanoes still giving off heat at depth. For example, geothermal heat warms more than 70 percent of the homes in Iceland. Steam from hightemperature geothermal fluids can be used to drive turbines and generate electrical power, while lower temperature fluids provide hot water for space-heating purposes, heat for greenhouses and industrial uses, and hot or warm springs at resort spas. Therefore, geothermal energy can be used by the residents who live near volcanoes and this provides an extra source of heat or energy for their use. In conclusion, although there are many great benefits of living near volcanoes which lead to greater convenience such as the use of geothermal energy the risk of an eruption that might take away the residents lives is too great. Therefore, if we treasure our lives, we should not choose to live near volcanoes. The benefits of living near volcanoes does not outweigh the costs.