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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. 

The main point and argument of this film is to demonstrate the importance of public health education and protocols for both the public and those in charge or part of the government. The documentary focuses on the West African Ebola outbreak. Specifically, the struggles of Liberia are demonstrated and portrayed. The outbreak proved to be something that the government wasn't able to fully contain and protect citizens from. The fact that this outbreak occurred right after the end of a 14 year long civil war also proved to be an obstacle. The documentary shows the uneducated, misinformed lack of effort to contain, stop or cure the spread of disease or to even inform those that were infected. There was a complete lack of awareness on diseases in general, Ebola specifically and of protocols to enact when faced with this issue demonstrated by the government.

The argument is supported through the presentation of research and findings from two research workshops that were organized in 2014 and 2015, which brought together experts and researchers in the field who analyzed organizational efforts and the efforts addressed in terms of  violence effecting healthcare delivery. In depth interviews were also utilized to support the argument as well as the analysis of current facts, figures and data that is currently out there on this topic.

There is a lot of discussion about emergency response in this paper, mainly on a global level. The current protocols in place are analyzed in terms of threat response, but also preventative measure and preparedness that is needed. Global health is widely discussed and the lack of emergency response seen in terms of AIDS, flu and smallpox in world history. The need for improvements in the biodefense response is analyzed. 

The registry is funded with federal tax dollars. New York City itself has funded specific projects for the registry research, for example the respiratory study of Lower Manhattan. The registry is hosted by NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene but is mostly paid for by federal taxes. 

It is important to note that this is the third chapter of the book, so when looking up the bibliography online, it was determined that for the entire book, there were hundreds of citations and references used. Most of them were studies, articles and other works ranging over years and years, done by experts in the field. There were also a lot of press articles and studies from foreign countries as well. This all showing an extensive and thorough amount of research that went into this book. 

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