The Politics of Earthquake Prediction / / Richard S. Olson, Joanne M. Nigg, Bruno Podesta.

The Politics of Earthquake Prediction is a suspenseful account of what happens when scientists predict an enormous earthquake for a specific day--an earthquake that did not, in this instance, happen, but which, if it had, would have been one of the most destructive of our century. Working in a field...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Superior document:Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Princeton Legacy Lib. eBook Package 1980-1999
VerfasserIn:
Place / Publishing House:Princeton, NJ : : Princeton University Press, , [2014]
©1989
Year of Publication:2014
Edition:Course Book
Language:English
Series:Princeton Legacy Library ; 989
Online Access:
Physical Description:1 online resource (200 p.)
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Other title:Frontmatter --
CONTENTS --
PREFACE --
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS --
ONE. Introduction: Politics and Science --
TWO. A Prediction Contained, 1976-1979 --
THREE. The Stakes Increase, 1979 --
FOUR. Bureaucratic Politics Takes Over, 1980 --
FIVE. Late 1980: The Prediction Goes Public-in the U.S. --
SIX. Brady's 1981 "Trial": The First Day --
SEVEN. Hardball: The Second Day of the Trial --
EIGHT. The Controversy Continues --
NINE. "Doomsday" Approaches -and Passes --
TEN. Reflections --
NOTES --
INDEX
Summary:The Politics of Earthquake Prediction is a suspenseful account of what happens when scientists predict an enormous earthquake for a specific day--an earthquake that did not, in this instance, happen, but which, if it had, would have been one of the most destructive of our century. Working in a field where uncertainty abounds, Dr. Brian Brady of the U.S. Bureau of Mines and Dr. William Spence of the U.S. Geological Survey gradually came to the conclusion that a catastrophic quake would occur on June 28, 1981, off the coast of central Peru, near the great population center of Lima-Callao. Their research was based on a theory challenging scientific notions widely accepted in the seismological "establishment." This book is a fast-paced but thorough and sensitive description of how this scientific dispute became a political controversy.The work portrays in detail the struggles of scientists and government officials in both the United States and Peru attempting to "do the right thing" as the target date approached. The authors emphasize the political, economic, and moral dilemmas of earthquake prediction, the impact of the media, and the potentially drastic consequences of ignoring a valid prediction.Originally published in 1989.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Format:Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.
ISBN:9781400860203
9783110413441
9783110413519
9783110442496
DOI:10.1515/9781400860203
Access:restricted access
Hierarchical level:Monograph
Statement of Responsibility: Richard S. Olson, Joanne M. Nigg, Bruno Podesta.