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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. 

One of the main arguments of this article is that there is a large focus on nuclear safety but instead there should be a focus on emergency preparedness for when there are nuclear disasters. Schmid argues that safety and preparedness needs to take a higher priority than keeping industry secrets. Individual nuclear industries should to an extent be sharing reactor designs so in the event of an emergency responding agencies know the equipment they will be facing. 

Byron J. Good is a medical anthropologist and Professor of Medical Anthropology at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Cultural Anthropology in the Department of Anthropology at Harvard. Good's writings have primarily focused on the cultural  meaning of mental illnesses, patient narratives of illness, and development of mental health systems.

The object of this study was to see if there was an increase in tyroid cancer after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. 

This article focuses on the increased attention on gender-based violence, and subsequent attempts to alter humanitarian guidelines, hindered efforts to address sexual violence and politicizes the issues. 

"So as Haiti approaches the fifth anniversary of its cholera epidemic later this year, the main hope for eradication rests on political and legal pressure on the U.N. to come up with the money."

"With few exceptions, donor nations and nongovernmental organizations insist on keeping control of their projects, which are set according to their own priorities."

The film portrays all the hard work, patience, and compassion emergency room staff possess when dealing with stressful situations. The film briefly touches on the diversion of ambulances when the ER becomes overcrowded. 

The aim of this organization is to provide emergency medical care and relief supplies to those who need it. They also work to provide medical care for those trying to escape violence or war. 

To make this argument Knowles used various other academic papers, public and private reports from investigations, past and current government policies, and news articles and reports.