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SSA Goes to Washington

The opening lines of the Charles Dickens classic A Tale of Two Cities sum up the past few years: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness." These have indeed been the best and worst of times, as Planet Earth has demonstrated just how dynamic and volatile life here can be.

Catastrophic natural disasters such as the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake and tsunami and the 2008 Wenchuan, China, earthquake, as well as a host of hurricanes, floods, and other natural hazards, devastated global and local economies and the quality of life for many individuals. In addition to natural disasters, the escalating global financial crisis is wreaking havoc on world economies. In the United States, unprecedented federal and state budget deficits threaten many of the programs that the Seismological Society of America has championed through the years.

We can be proactive about the things we do. This includes making sure that SSA's message is heard and understood by policy makers and public officials, both nationally and globally.

 

But it's not all bad. The past few years have seen tremendous growth, not only in earthquake science and engineering but in public education and awareness of earthquakes and other natural hazards. The observance of the centennial of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake reminded us of how far seismology and the SSA have come in the past century. The success of the "Great Southern California Shake Out"—the largest earthquake drill in U.S. history—and a revitalized National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) have given us much to be enthused about. It also highlights that there is much more to be done.

Often it seems that the best we can do is react to situations as they unfold before us. Certainly . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Stuart Nishenko, Chairman and Elizabeth Duffy

SSA Government Relations Committee
spn3@pge.com
Federal Affairs Office
eduffy@federalaffairs.com

Related articles in Seismological Research Letters:

News and Notes

Seismological Research Letters 2008 79: 379-380. [Extract] [Full Text]