Yes, the supermassive magma plume beneath Yellowstone National Park is overdue for an eruption, which would dump inches of ash over the entire continent, plunge the globe into a decade-long nuclear winter, and kill a billion people. But that's a small risk to run in return for its real value: keeping the Pacific Northwest earthquake-free.
Beneath Washington and Oregon, the Pacific oceanic crust is crunching into and under the North American continent -- which should result in enough seismic chaos to prevent people from stacking two Legos on top of each other, much less building a worldwide coffee empire. Luckily, the so-called "Yellowstone plume" acts like earth's own Astroglide, lubing up the tectonic plates and ensuring the world's continued access to Pumpkin Spice Lattes.
