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7.4.1: Introduction

  • Page ID
    6283
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    Overview

    The study of earthquakes is such a large-scale problem, with so many implications, that it seems impossible for the national government not to become involved. The government faces two difficulties:

    1. Defining the earthquake problem and dedicating the national resources to deal with it, and
    2. Informing the public about what has been done in such a way that the public can become a partner in reducing the earthquake hazards we face.

    A third difficulty, in an era when some politicians are arguing for less and less government, is convincing the public a long time after the last earthquake that the government ought to be doing anything at all. Schools? Public safety? Health care? National defense? Earthquakes? Take your pick.


    This page titled 7.4.1: Introduction is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Robert S. Yeats (Open Oregon State) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.