Earthquake-prediction technology deserves to be taken seriously (OPINION)
on December 26, 2015 at 7:10 PM, updated December 26, 2015 at 7:11 PM
By Alberto Enriquez
When it comes to earthquakes, one question matters. How many thousands of Oregon Coast residents must die before the U.S. Geological Survey comes to its senses? I think the answer should be zero. So should you.
After a decade of reporting the science of seismo-electromagnetics, I'm tired of waiting for a billion-dollar federal agency with a huge conflict of interest to 'fess up. "Seismo-em" works.
No thanks to the USGS, earthquakes are being forecast today. In Peru, a system still in development has accurately forecast 18 quakes. In five years of monitoring the Peruvian coast, this system hasn't missed a single strong quake. Even a scarcely palpable micro-quake as weak as 3.1 was detected days in advance. Quake forecasting isn't some shimmering mirage. Today, forecasts are a reality.
On Dec. 16, at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco, Dr. Jorge Heraud, of the Pontificia Universidad Cat?lica del Peru, presented to the Natural Hazards group. Three years previous, he'd demonstrated advance triangulation of earthquakes. This year, Heraud unleashed a dazzling display of rapid-fire computerized triangulations.
The completed image spoke for itself. Stress-generated signals had sketched the subduction zone off Peru's coast. Bear in mind that seismology requires earthquake vibrations to image the earth's crust. Seismology is blind at all other times. Heraud's demo revealed that seismo-em techniques can image rocks under stress before an earthquake strikes. The room burst into applause. With characteristic diplomacy, Heraud recognized the genius of Friedemann Freund, a NASA physicist whose theory and lab experiments lit the way.
"Theory always must conform to reality," Heraud said. "A few years ago, Friedemann gave us a theory. The theory conforms to reality."
No other media was present. Why? Because USGS authorities with absolutely no comprehension of solid-state physics continually parrot that earthquakes cannot be forecast. The media never questions USGS dogma. The Pentagon or Kremlin would kill for such deference...
