Living around (and in?) volcanoes

There are a couple article out today concerning volcanoes and the economy, one on the plus side, one on the minus side.

Volcano Buono in Italy near Naples.

First off, nothing like volcanism to get me stoked for buying stuff, eh? Actually, I have to admit, the Volcano Buono mall

(yes, mall) in Italy near Naples (and yes, near Vesuvius) is one of the rather more attractive malls I’ve seen in a long time (above). It is designed to look like a volcano – I suppose it looks most like a monogenetic scoria cone, a little out of place for that part of Italy – but its design was based on trying use land as part of the insulating structure (thus all the plants/dirt on the slopes). Well, at least we know that this volcano will erupt … with savings!

(Sorry.)

In other volcano-economy news, there was a brief mention that people living around Kilauea in Hawai’i are upset that their insurance rates are heading upwards – but its not the insurance company’s fault or the owners fault for living near a volcano, but rather it is the fault of the USGS! Yes, those outdated lava hazard maps are the reason these people have to pay through the nose to live on an actively erupting volcano. Makes sense to me.

{Hat tip to Jesse for the mall story.}