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Project: Formosa Plastics Global Archive

The Formosa Plastics Global Archive supports a transnational network of people concerned about the operations of the Formosa Plastics Corporation, one of the world's largest petrochemical

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Seismic St. Louis

Emily Sekine
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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. 

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wolmad
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“A six­month examination by The Times found that the rescuers' ability to save themselves and others was hobbled by technical difficulties, a history of tribal feuding and management lapses that have been part of the emergency response culture in New York City and other regions for years.”

''It's a disgrace,'' he said. ''The police are talking to each other. It's a no­brainer: Get us what they're using. We send people to the moon, and you mean to tell me a firefighter can't talk to a guy two floors above him?''

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wolmad
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The article supports its arguments in two main ways, by providing statistics and case stories. Statistics pertaining to medical based residence applications are separated by location, rationale, and department they were processed by in order to demonstrate varied acceptance rates. Case stories are used to show the process, the hurdles faced by applicants, and the effect that this policy has on the health of applicants.

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wolmad
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The author of this article is Adriana Petryna, who is a professor of anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research focus has been on nuclear science and medicine, and it's cultural and political ramifications.