GREAT AUGUST EARTHQUAKE 2011 PART II

West Coasters are pleased to laugh at us for our “over” reaction to this earthquake, just as we would laugh at them for their “over” reaction to six inches of snow, but this is not to be taken lightly.   The Washington Monument sustains several prominent cracks (though it is not tilting as Fox News reported, but did we believe that?), the Washington Cathedral has damage that could cost in the millions of dollars to fix, and they have no insurance.   Many other buildings damaged.  Water pipes broken at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt and Pentagon.  Roads, rails, and bridges mostly seem to be intact.  Renewed concern about the safety of nuclear reactors.  In Louisa County, officials counted four houses within five miles of the epicenter destroyed, another 65 with severe damage, and 125 with moderate damage.  Schools in the area are closed till September 12 to repair damage.  Estimates of the damage from this earthquake range from $10 to $100 million.  But that may be low-ball estimates.

Some people whose property is damaged by the earthquake may be shocked to find their homeowner insurance does not cover earthquakes.  Or other natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods—you had better check your policy now.  You probably have to buy a separate rider for these possibilities.  But good luck with that now—this earthquake probably will be cited as “pre-existing condition!”  I wonder if evacuation of the city, everyone leaving at once, was done as wisely as could be, but I don’t know if the gridlock was really that much worse than usual “rush hour” traffic.  Perhaps one of you kept track of that?  Rail service in the DC area was slowed, because of concern about damaged tracks, just at a time when it would be most needed.  What about all those government workers and others who depend on rail to get home?  There must have been a huge out flux of tourists and visitors, since all museums and monuments closed.  Do they have a plan for such contingencies?  It seems to me that some kind of rolling evacuation, dismissing an area at a time, perhaps beginning at the periphery, might be wiser.   What would they do if they had to evacuate the whole city on short notice?  Does Homeland Security just say “GO!”

So what triggered the earthquake?  Was it just time for another? 

 I heard someone say that the earthquake was caused by the Founding Fathers rolling over in their graves!

 A friend of mine quipped that it was an Act of God, in order to create more jobs for construction workers!

 Rev Pat Robertson thinks the earthquake is a sign of the end times—noting that the cracks in the Washington Monument could be a sign from God.

 Someone else thought it might be punishment for Rep Eric Cantor, in whose district  was the epicenter of the earthquake, who had said after the Joplin MO tornado, that indeed government might help with recovery effort, but that there would have to be comparable cuts in the budget elsewhere.  Indeed, after the earthquake, he appeared in his district to reassure his constituents that of course the government would help, but there would have to be cuts elsewhere to pay for the help.   

 I emailed Valerie, in Spokane, when I heard that MLKjr memorial, which was holding opening ceremonies, had to evacuate,   “ How long will it take the right wingers to say that the earthquake and Hurricane Irene are God’s  punishment for the installation of MLKjr memorial on the Washington Mall?  I think opening ceremonies were today, I understand people had to run out of the building when the earthquake hit, and the big dedication is this weekend, when Irene is likely to hit.

Watch for it…”

 But I haven’t really heard that one yet.  Although yesterday (Thursday) a commenter on a blog raised that very same question.

But more seriously [it was bound to come], the publisher of the conservative website WorldNetDaily, Joseph Farah, writes, "Washington, D.C., deserves more than the wallop it got today [because of declining morals]. It needs a much bigger shaking up than it got." And a Brooklyn rabbi, Yehuda Levin, blamed the earthquake on the growing acceptance of same-sex marriage, citing the Talmud as saying that “one of the reasons that God brings earthquakes to the world is because of the transgression of homosexuality.”  But I expect He could find plenty of transgressions that need punishing.  Why does no one ever suggest that He sends these calamities to punish us for our wars/invasions/occupations?  Or because we have the death penalty?  Perhaps he is punishing us for allowing 1% of the population to control 80% of the wealth of the country, for allowing such a disparity between the rich and the poor?  Or perhaps because our legislators are bought by corporations, or because those corporations dare to buy and own the government?  Perhaps he in punishing the oil,  gas, and coal industry for polluting our air, water, and land?   Perhaps he is just trying to wake us up to our follies in carrying our “dominion over the earth” to the extremes of destroying it ourselves, by showing that He can do it even faster?
And as to acts of man, I have read in the past that such things as constructing a dam, with all its weight, can increase frequency of earthquakes.  Such things as injection wells and fracking have been cited as causes, as recently in Arkansas.  (See http://www.readersupportednews.org/news-section2/312-16/7166-fracking-could-have-caused-east-coast-earthquake).  Perhaps, in some vulnerable areas, the mere weight of the huge cities we build.  Do we tempt fate?  I caught something in passing, about a plan to build a huge new facility at Los Alamos, but, because the ground there is volcanic ash, which is very soft, they would have to remove all of that ash and replace it with tons of concrete.

Anyway, this gives us plenty to ponder, as we await the next great catastrophe, Hurricane Irene.