Natural Hazards: Geology, Engineering, Agriculture, and Sociopolitical/Humanitarian Considerations for the Twenty-First Century
Titel:
Natural Hazards: Geology, Engineering, Agriculture, and Sociopolitical/Humanitarian Considerations for the Twenty-First Century
Auteur:
Smith, Joseph
Verschenen in:
International geology review
Paginering:
Jaargang 42 (2000) nr. 7 pagina's 617-656
Jaar:
2000-07
Inhoud:
Dangers from natural hazards have been characterized quantitatively by national and international committees of geoscientists based on technical advances in geochemistry and geophysics (sensu lato). The current status of knowledge on natural hazards is reviewed with particular emphasis on comet/asteroid impact, earthquakes, and volcanoes. All these hazards are survivable by the world's population if appropriate measures are taken over the next century and millennium. Ideas for mitigation include: general use of weathered volcanic ash and power-station fly ash to make pozzolana cement for strengthening buildings, and stabilizing weak ground and hillsides prone to slumping; long-term storage of grains under nitrogen, together with other techniques for maintaining viability of stored food; drilling of tunnels under major cities to facilitate traffic flow, and for protection against impact of bolides and bombs; design of sea and lake fronts to guard against tsunamis from earthquakes and asteroid impact. The food-storage proposals could be tailored to help farmers obtain a regular income while producing a higher crop yield than needed for current food supply. The land modification plans would provide technical challenges and new business activities for civil engineers, lawyers, real-estate professionals, and city planners. It is truly tragic that genuine ideas for mitigation of natural hazards are being implemented at a snail's pace while funding for weapons flourishes around much of the world. The early development of my thinking on hazards is an example of the typical disconnection between “scientific expertise” and actual day-to-day planning decisions. As a farmer's boy interested in civil engineering and land planning in an ecological context, I summarize old and new ideas in an effort to bridge this disconnection, and facilitate the planned transfer of funding from weapons to actions that enhance human well being. Because the actions are international in their basic nature and ecological in character, I hope that they will help to generate a feeling of “One world that must be loved, not abused.” We belong to one biological species, Homo supposedly sapiens sapiens. We must progress beyond tribal, ethnic, and other divisive matters associated with wars and civilian conflicts. The rich must help the poor. Geology and civil engineering can provide important worldwide cooperative connections.
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