China 7.9 Richter Quake!

[NYEric]

Are our friends in China, etc. OK!?

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

It was centered in Wenchuan County, northwest of Chengdu. This area is where Wolong Nature Preserve is and where my friend Dr. Holger Perner lives and works. Please pray for him and his family...

 

[Ron-NY]

it looks bad, will keep all in my thoughts

 

[SlipperFan]

I've been following the news, and hoping...

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

Dr. Perner and his family are OK. He just emailed me. He said it was a ferocious quake and was very surprised the building that he and his wife ran out of didn't collapse. Anyway, at least they made it through OK, but traveling at present is impossible. I wonder about food, water, and other basic services though in the weeks to come. I'm guessing that relief will come to the region from the world over.

 

[Heather]

Oh my.

I'm so glad Dr. Perner and his family are okay.
I have a colleague who was just in China, and I think that region, the last three weeks.

What is strange is, just after he left (he was leading a floral trip through the region and into Tibet) lightening struck our buildings at work, and two weeks later our water filter went down. Now, he just leaves China and there is this huge quake.

Poor guy seems to leave disaster in his wake these days.

 

[NYEric]

I read about the buildings shaking like a rubber pencil! I remember the little quake we had in NYC years ago; and that made me jump out of bed. I fear for those close by. At least the Chinese Govt. is excellent at mobilizing manpower.

 

[Hien]

Of course, there always are natural disaster events that beyond our control, but somehow I think a lot of our activities on earth do contribute to some of them.
I am wondering if these massive dams that China built recently trigger this & maybe many more earth quakes to come.
You all hear about how buildings in urban cities cracks & collapses when somebody digs & builds something else bigger near by.

These are old articles that are quite interesting in view of what just happened

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1974736.stm
http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF14/1465.html

 

[cnycharles]

Of course, there always are natural disaster events that beyond our control, but somehow I think a lot of our activities on earth do contribute to some of them.
I am wondering if these massive dams that China built recently trigger this & maybe many more earth quakes to come.

you know, it has been noted by seismologists and vulcanologists that during winters where snow loads on continents are higher, there is a higher incidence of volcanic activity. the downward pressure just from some snow causes more eruptions. so, your observation about dams and all could be very true! a new large body of water would weigh very much and could conceivably trigger some land movement.

 

[Eric Muehlbauer]

I see the logic in this, but these events come from deep tectonic movements. I'm not familiar with the plate boundaries in China, but I do know that the boundaries there are very active, and very destructive....it was only about 30 years ago or so that China had the most powerful quake in modern history. I remember when I was a kid...there was this idea that setting off dynamite along the San Andreas fault would relieve the pressure via small quakes, preventing the eventual "big one". They didn't work....lots of dynamite, couldn't budge the San Andreas...it moved when it was ready....in Northridge. East Asia is a mess of tectonic activity...India still proceeds to subduct beneath the Himalayas, raising the mountains and Tibet beyond them ever higher.....the coastline from the Aleutians through Kamchatka through Shanghai through SE Asia and Indonesia is a long string of subduction zones...4 boundaries alone (maybe more) in Japan....As much as I'd like to blame any environmental disaster on the 3 Gorges Dam, I think this is one that would have happened anyway. Take care, Eric

 

[Heather]

I don't want to say this but I am going to anyway... over population doesn't help in these circumstances (and I am NOT a fan of China's policies regarding this issue!)

Still, this sort of incident makes one pay some attention to the issue.

More and more frequently, I am thankful that I do not have children. That's pretty sad, actually, but I feel okay about it when I see these sorts of things going on in this world.

 

[Rick]

you know, it has been noted by seismologists and vulcanologists that during winters where snow loads on continents are higher, there is a higher incidence of volcanic activity. the downward pressure just from some snow causes more eruptions. so, your observation about dams and all could be very true! a new large body of water would weigh very much and could conceivably trigger some land movement.

I remember before completion of the 3 Gorge dam project was completed that there were many predictions of increased seismic activity. The reservoir is right on a fault line. Since 2003 when the reservoir was filling, seismic activity increased dramatically, although the largest tremor was only about 2.5. There are several other large dams and reservoirs in the region (also on different faults), and local seismic activity also increased with each of these projects (which is why the predictions were made for the 3 Gorge project). May have reached a tipping point. I hope they take another look at all their dam building projects.

 

[Hien]

I remember before completion of the 3 Gorge dam project was completed that there were many predictions of increased seismic activity. The reservoir is right on a fault line. Since 2003 when the reservoir was filling, seismic activity increased dramatically, although the largest tremor was only about 2.5. There are several other large dams and reservoirs in the region (also on different faults), and local seismic activity also increased with each of these projects (which is why the predictions were made for the 3 Gorge project). May have reached a tipping point. I hope they take another look at all their dam building projects.

I imagine that, likes the buddhist concept of " interdependent of all phenomenon" we are actually more connected than what peoples believe (not just internet connection). I wonder whether a crack in China does not affect somewhere else later.
This is a sidetrack but, this could be equally a potential future looming disaster

http://www.independent.co.uk/enviro...at-stretches-from-hawaii-to-japan-778016.html

 

[Rick]

Did you hear about the extinct (hadn't been seen in a long-long time) giant river turtle that showed up in a lake in N. Vietanam.

There was a folk tale associated with the "reapperance of the magic turtle" at this location and "when the turtle comes back, something big is going to happen".

From what I could tell from the fragment of the story I heard it didn't say if the "big happening" was going to be good or bad.

 

[NYEric]

I have to agree w/ Eric M. The amount of water held back by the dams could hardly cause a surcharge which would effect the plates, thereby causing a seismic disturbance. More likely just a bad place to be, right West Syed! Future oceanfront developement in Arizona! oke:

Heather, doesn't Chinese policy suupport your beliefs against overpopulation?

 

[NYEric]

Hien, that's some serious enviro-stuff. I remember reading a Sci-fi story as a kid about a natural micro-organism that developed which consumed plastic; unfortunately man by that time was largely using plastic in artificial body parts so that was the end of mankind. Hmmmm.

 

[Candace]

Heather, doesn't Chinese policy suupport your beliefs against overpopulation?

Eric, do some googling about the problems associated with the governmental regulations. I.E. that female fetus abortions are at an all time high and that the social structure of their society will be pretty screwed up in 20 years when there are significantly less females available for reproduction and marriage. Yes, less bodies and less population but the social structure there will be a nightmare.

 

[cnycharles]

the thing you mention about social policy of aborting females will get even worse as I have read about increased pollution and contamination in many places is leading to more embryos being formed as female; more pollution more female children more abortions. just another sad chapter to making our environment really messed up

 

[NYEric]

G&L rainbows in China!

 

[Hien]

G&L rainbows in China!

I would imagine that condition for G & L in china is better now & I certainly hope so.
I remember a past PBS program that interviewed some cubans (my memory is a little fuzzy now, so it may not be extremely accurate in details. These cubans are either Fidel Castro's relatives or close associates who were no longer agree with him)
They mentioned of a cuban mayor's visitation to a china sister city, during the visit the cuban mayor asking how china deals with G&L problem (he was talking about how Cuba sent the G&L into labor prison) The Chinese counterpart replied that his city has no gay nor gay problem.
Seeing the cuban mayor's disbelief, the Chinese official explained that one year the chinese gays/lesbians in that city went to a park near the river for a festival that popular with gays. The city authority organize the troup to cornered all of them to the river bank then pushing all of them into river.
After that there is no gay in the city (either they drown, or if they survive, they would not dare to be who they are any more)
I always thought that PBS is very open minded, in fact maybe a little bit to the left, so I don't think they making up this story to make the communist regimes look bad.