Hope you are OK in the quake zone
We know where the fault lines, the volcanoes and the most-storm prevalent locations are, but do we avoid them? No way. We build on 'em. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said the region had been lucky to avoid a major disaster. "Thank Gd that there have not been any reports of serious injuries or damage to properties," Mr Schwarzenegger said. "This reminds us once again that in California we have to be prepared for anything and everything."
Hope LA citizens survived this warning - never forget the risk you take just living near the San Andreas fault. It may be a once in 100-year thing, or maybe once in 500 years - but when it comes it will be big. I guess plenty of people are thinking 'it can't happen to me'.
Which is a little bit like ignoring pollution and global warming, de-forestation and loss of biological diversity - we think about ourselves and our short lives and rarely look at the consequences in the longer term. If we can do OK in our 70 years that's great. If it all falls apart when we are gone, well that's not our problem.
And a note to Mr Schwarzenegger, or maybe to the proofreaders at News.com: just who is the "Gd" thanked here?
Labels: earthquakes, environment, tectonic