The great volcanic eruption in Iceland has stranded seven million travelers and is costing airlines at least $1 billion in lost revenue this week. This fiscal disaster comes on top of a series of devastating blows for the industry, as the New York Times described yesterday: “losses of $50 billion over the last decade after the attacks of 9/11, the SARS epidemics of 2004, the rise in fuel costs in 2008 and the recession.” And with the volcano comes great “deus ex machina” from the sky, spewing ash all over a continent, shutting down their business for an indefinite amount of time. This week we’ve found that environmental risks are not just a future threat; they’re here today.