science vs. government
I was reading about yesterday's earthquake, and was struck in the face by this set of paragraphs in today's Washington Post article:
"Weeks before the disaster, an Italian scientist had predicted a major quake around L'Aquila, based on concentrations of radon gas found around seismically active areas.
Seismologist Gioacchino Giuliani, who lives in L'Aquila, was reported to police for "spreading alarm" and was forced to remove his findings from the Internet.
Civil Protection assured locals at the end of March that tremors being felt were "absolutely normal" for a seismic area."
Seriously, people? Would everyone please just fucking listen to scientists about something important, that might SAVE YOUR DAMN LIFE, and stop obsessing over this week's new miracle anti-oxidant food finding? Some risks (developing wrinkles) carry small consequences. Some (probable huge earthquakes, global warming) do not.
ETA: OK, so maybe it's not as clear-cut as it appeared. According to a NYT update about it, maybe his method isn't actually reliable, and his prediction of earthquake was a coincidence.
"Weeks before the disaster, an Italian scientist had predicted a major quake around L'Aquila, based on concentrations of radon gas found around seismically active areas.
Seismologist Gioacchino Giuliani, who lives in L'Aquila, was reported to police for "spreading alarm" and was forced to remove his findings from the Internet.
Civil Protection assured locals at the end of March that tremors being felt were "absolutely normal" for a seismic area."
Seriously, people? Would everyone please just fucking listen to scientists about something important, that might SAVE YOUR DAMN LIFE, and stop obsessing over this week's new miracle anti-oxidant food finding? Some risks (developing wrinkles) carry small consequences. Some (probable huge earthquakes, global warming) do not.
ETA: OK, so maybe it's not as clear-cut as it appeared. According to a NYT update about it, maybe his method isn't actually reliable, and his prediction of earthquake was a coincidence.