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We explain qualitatively why the staggered flux state plays a central role in the SU(2) formulation of the t-J model, which we use to model the pseudogap state in underdoped cuprates. This point of view is supported by studies of projected wavefunctions. In addition to staggered orbital current correlations, we present here for the first time results of correlations involving hole and spin chirality and show that the two are closely related. The staggered flux state allows us to construct cheap and fast vortices, which may hold the key to explaining the many anomalous properties of the normal state.Keywords: high-Tc cuprates, orbital currents, pseudo gap PACS numbers: 74.25. Jb, 71.10.Fd, 71.27.+a It is now a widely accepted view that the problem of high T c superconductivity is the problem of doping into a Mott insulator. By doping x holes per unit cell, the Néel order is rapidly destroyed and d-wave superconductivity emerges. Many of us believe the physics is captured by the t-J model, and the competition is between the kinetic energy of the hole xt, where t is the hopping matrix element, and the exchange energy J. This competition leads to spectacular new physics in the underdoped region, where the pseudogap phenomenon has been well documented. An understanding of the underdoped region is prerequisite to understanding the entire phase diagram.One view of the pseudogap phase is that it is a local superconductor with robust amplitude but strong phase fluctuations. Setting aside the question of where the strong pairing amplitude comes from in the first place, that this view is incomplete can be seen from the following argument. In two dimensions the destruction of superconducting order is via the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) theory of vortex unbinding. Above T c the number of vortices proliferate and the normal metallic state is reached only when the vortex density is so high that the cores overlap.(There is considerable latitude in specifying the core radius, but this does not affect the conclusion.) At lower vortex density, transport properties will resemble a superconductor in the flux flow regime. In ordinary superconductors, the BKT temperature is close to the mean field temperature, and the core energy rapidly becomes small. However, in the present case, it is postulated that the mean field temperature is high, so that a large core energy is expected.