Doug...who says that man can't be blamed for Tsunamis, earthquakes etc. Man has so interfered with the balance of the earth with testing nuclear weapons....I know it maybe perhaps conspiracy theory but it was suggested in an e-mail I received after the Tsunami that a device had been detonated in the area just before the Tsunami reared its ugly head.
With regard to those things having been around since Biblical times..they are getting worse! Pestilence will get worse as we take away natural habitats of those creatures...which is happening ever more quickly.
As for the droughts, famines and plagues...what about applying Biblical principles and everyone who is capable coming to peoples aid instead of just those willing few...many of whom I might add come from "Religious groups"
Doug...you say that "The progress made by humankind has made the world a better place".
We fight wars with more sophisticated weapons and some of mass destruction. In the UK we are now seeing a gun and knife culture, particularly amongst the disrespecting teenage generation of the day and crime on the increase with less officers to keep law and order.
Terrorism as a means of 'achieving' has increased dramatically and nasty incidents such as 9/11 or maybe even worse are threatened.
Trees are disappearing at an alarming rate...the source of much of our oxygen and remover of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
I guess I am a little sceptical of the world making progress for the better.