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Seismic St. Louis

Emily Sekine

I'm interested in better understanding the ongoing geological processes that shape St. Louis and the Mississippi Valley region. So far, I've been looking into the history of seismicity in the region, focusing on the fascinating but little known history of the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811 and 1812 -- the most devastating earthquakes to have hit the US east of the Rockies. I've also been exploring how St. Louis and surrounding areas are dealing with the possibility of another earthquake occurring in the future. According to one article I read, one of the biggest uncertainties is what would happen to the heavily engineered Mississippi River in the case of another major tremblor. The shaking could break the levees, flooding wide areas along the river and creating cascading effects. The flow of the river might also reverse completely, as occurred during the New Madrid earthquakes.

On these possibilities and the lack of scientific consensus surrounding intraplate seismicity in this zone, see this article in The Atlantic.

On current efforts to create earthquake hazard maps in St. Louis, see this overview on the US Geological Survey site.

For a deeper dive into the history of the New Madrid earthquakes, see this book by historian of science Conevery Bolton Valencius. 

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ciera.williams

"If we weigh “evidence” by the pound or the page, we risk moving toward a monoculture of C.B.T"

"Stories capture small pictures, too. I’m thinking of the anxious older man given Zoloft. That narrative has power"

"For a variety of reasons, including a heightened awareness of medical error and a focus on cost cutting, we have entered an era in which a narrow, demanding version of evidence­based medicine prevails"

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ciera.williams

The author likely read through the referenced articles to find where they could be appropriately cited, and then conducted first hand interviews with select people (as mentioned in the notes) to put the information into context. Together, the multiple forms of media allow for a well-rounded point of view in writing the article, with various angles being well-represented throughout. 

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ciera.williams

The policy establishes the World Trade Center Health Program within the Department of Health and Human Services. It provides “medical monitoring and treatment benefits to eligible emergency responders and recovery and cleanup workers… who responded to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and… initial health evaluation, monitoring, and treatment benefits to residents and other building occupants and area workers in New York City who were directly impacted and adversely affected by such attacks”

The program also establishes measures to prevent Fraud and a Quality Assurance program was also implemented. This includes measures to assure adherence to protocol, appropriate referrals, prompt communication of results to patients, and any other elements the program administrator deems necessary, with consultation from other sources.

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josh.correira

I followed up on the outcome of the lawsuit filed against the EPA, the cleanup efforts (i.e. how long it took to cleanup, who participated), and why the EPA allowed residents to move back into their homes in the days following the tower collapses.