Earthquakes
The warning signs of the earthquake that hit Italy in 2009 were various tremors of a low magnitude that were experienced a few months before the fatal earthquake. Earthquakes tend to occur in clusters therefore the moment the first tremor hits geologists ought to be prepared for another tremor probably of a higher magnitude than the previous. In regard to the L’Aquila earthquake of 2009, the small tremors that occurred before that fateful day in April should have formed the baseline on which to predict the occurrence of a major earthquake (Martin, 2015). With such warning signs, geologists have a responsibility of advising the government as well as the public of an imminent earthquake without downplaying its impacts. The public should be advised to flee their homes and seek shelter in safer regions when such signs are detected.
The statements made by the scientists and the prosecutors revealed that the government was to blame for underestimating the risks posed by the earthquake that occurred on 6th April 2009. A private meeting was held by government officials and the scientists and concluded that L’Aquila is very vulnerable to earthquakes. To add to that, seismic activities were proved difficult to predict during the meeting. The prosecutors also revealed that a government official from the department of civil protection stated in a press conference that the tremors posed no danger to the public (Greenemeier, 2013). Hence, the consequences for the scientists would have been different. They would have been prosecuted for failure to counter the government’s advice which was said to downplay the threats associated with the looming earthquake. Moreover the scientists did not bother despite establishing in a meeting that L’Aquila was prone to earthquakes thus any slightest sign ought not to have been ignored.
The way scientists use concepts is totally different from the understanding of the general public. This played a greater role in the aftermath of L’Aquila earthquake. The public followed the advice from a government official who was rather imprecise since he acted as a spokesperson for the scientists but not as an expert. The result would have been different if the scientists disseminated warning information to the public while avoiding the use of scientific jargons for the public to understand and respond appropriately. In order to improve the discourse between scientists and the public, scientific literacy should be incorporated in educational curriculum to enable the public interpret scientific messages correctly. Besides, scientific warnings should be disseminated by the experts rather than a government spokesperson since the general public values the source of information for them to undertake appropriate measures (Martin, 2015). Finally, experts should learn to use a simple language that can be comprehended by everyone to avoid any communication barrier.
One of the physiographic provinces in the United States of America is the Blue Ridge Mountains. They extend from Georgia and their end point is located in Pennsylvania. The mountains have a unique color as they appear blue from a distance. This appearance is accentuated by various types of indigenous trees found in the Blue Ridge Mountains. These mountains constitute the highest peak of all mountains as far as eastern North America is concerned (Martin, 2015). There are various kinds of rocks found here including metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. Several national parks located on each side of the mountains forms a beautiful landscape. They include the Shenandoah and the Great Smoky Mountains National Parks located in the northern and southern regions respectively.
References
Greenemeier, L. (2013). Faulty Justice: Italian Earthquake Scientist Speaks Out against His Conviction. Scientific American .
Martin, G. J. (2015). American geography and geographers: Toward geographical science Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press.