Ferguson: Some Concrete Actions You Can Take

Things are calming down in Ferguson, but that doesn’t mean we’re done. There’s still a dead teenager, and a culture that finds it all too easy to throw black lives away, and a police department absolutely determined to do nothing, not even fill in a police report on the shooting.

You may feel helpless. You may feel like there’s nothing you can do, but there is. Continue reading “Ferguson: Some Concrete Actions You Can Take”

Ferguson: Some Concrete Actions You Can Take
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An Apt Analogy for Varieties of Creationist

I don’t know if any of you read Paul Braterman’s blog, Eat Your Brains Out. No, it’s not a blog about zombies, although occasionally Jesus is mentioned. It’s actually a blog about science and creationism, and I’ve now read it in its entirety. Great stuff within.

And, sometimes, a very funny and apt bit. Continue reading “An Apt Analogy for Varieties of Creationist”

An Apt Analogy for Varieties of Creationist

A Whole Lotta Shaking: Some Thoughts on Magnitude

So Sunday was a big day for earthquakes. In the wee hours of the ay-em, we had the West Napa Fault Zone (probably) cutting loose, and then, a bit later in the day, Peru got hit big-time. Thankfully, Peru’s quake was in a sparsely-populated area, and California’s was – well, California. They’ve been dealing with this stuff for half of forever. So while Sunday was dramatic for earthquake happenings, it wasn’t so bad as far as death and destruction.

But Cali got lucky – their quake was pretty small compared to Peru’s. Like, way smaller. The South Napa quake was a mere 6.0 – big, but not unimaginably huge. Peru’s was 6.9, same size as Loma Prieta (and we all know how awful that was).

Okay, you may think. 6.9. That’s not that bad.

Except that’s not how the scale works. Continue reading “A Whole Lotta Shaking: Some Thoughts on Magnitude”

A Whole Lotta Shaking: Some Thoughts on Magnitude

New at Rosetta Stones: Which Fault’s at Fault for the South Napa Quake?

This is a maclargehuge post in which we witness geologists and seismologists doing the hard investigative work, and determining which fault very probably caused the whole Napa problem. Enjoy!

Image shows a portion of California. Napa Valley has a huge red dot on it, with a lot of orange and yellow radiating away.
Shake map for the South Napa quake, courtesy USGS via Chris Rowan.

 

New at Rosetta Stones: Which Fault’s at Fault for the South Napa Quake?

New at Rosetta Stones: Earthquake Safety Tips

Funny thing is, I’d been looking up real safety tips for surviving earthquakes when I was fact-checking our Christianists texts on the subject. And I learned that I had a lot of wrong-headed ideas. In light of the Napa earthquake that went on today, I figured I’d share those tips so that folks in seismically active areas can polish up on their earthquake survival.

Here’s the takeaway lesson, although you should read the whole thing so you know what to do before, during, and after:

Image shows the three steps essential to staying safe in an earthquake: drop, get under a sturdy piece of furniture, hold on until the shaking's over.
Excellent advice from the Great California ShakeOut. Click the image to visit their page and sign up for the drill.
New at Rosetta Stones: Earthquake Safety Tips

The Cataclysm: “Stripped from the Proximal Forest”

A rather extensive forest became part of a directed blast deposit: that’s the summary. One moment, you’re a green and pleasant home for much of the local wildlife; the next, you’ve been rudely ripped apart and incorporated within a bunch of rock and ash by a volcano having a bad turn. So it goes.

When Rick Waitt traced the fate of Mount St. Helens’s magnificent forests, he found they’d had quite the adventure (aside from being knocked flat, bruised, battered, buried, and burnt). Continue reading “The Cataclysm: “Stripped from the Proximal Forest””

The Cataclysm: “Stripped from the Proximal Forest”