Discovery Channel

Henry. are you watching "Super Volcano?"

its seems to be a good movie based on some facts anyway. Tom Brokaw is hosting it and after the movie he will have a discussion with whoever on the likely hood of a super eruption and its possible consequences

 

no tornadoes in my college town, La Crosse, WI

at the other end of the state is my home town of Appleton, WI... where I had my bridal shower on the same night as a 13-tornado outbreak. spent most of the 'party' in the basement!

what a difference 175 miles makes.

the lesson: not all places in the midwest have tornadoes.

 

that is true, tornados do happen mostly in select areas for sure. but there is no place that has nothing to worry about.

i say live and be happy. the last person who moved because they thought they were living in an unsafe area probably slipped in the bathtub and killed themselves anyway.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveinOlyWA\";p=\"80047)</div>

:lol:

We moved from the floodplain (our house was less than 1/2 mile from the Mississippi river) to hurricane land (central NC). You're right, there is no truly hazard-free area anywhere.

I'm just happy hail is a less frequent occurrence here than back in Wisconsin with our brand new car and no garage.

 

When I was in college I took a basic geology class that happened to be taught by Dr. Carver (whom I believe was in that Discovery channel docu) at Humboldt State University.

It was sobering when the class went on a field trip to the salt marshes where he dug down into the side of embankment and showed two earlier levels of the salt marsh - that these subsidences coincided with well known mega-earthquakes in the area. The largest recent one was about 300 years ago (1700 I think). This was a quake that the local Indian tribes still talked about to this day. The geologists believed that the fault ruptured the entire length of the subduction (something like 600 miles).

Yow!

I still lived there another five years and went through two 6+ quakes and then returned for the summer for a 7. I live in SoCal now, and I'm well aware of the risks of quakes here as well (though a strike slip ala the small faults around our neighborhood a biggie out there in the San Andreas can never be as devastating as a subduction zone quake).

That said, I've also lived in the midwest and went through three tornadoes there and spent more time in the basement as a kid than I care to remember.

I'm not sure if there's anyplace that's perfect, you play the odds and of course favor those places that don't play into your natural fears. It helps to live in place that's nice otherwise.

 

I've recorded that program, and hope to watch it later.

As far as the Yellowstone caldera is concerned, there is no safe place on this planet from the consequences of that eruption. If you live outside the guesstimated blast radius, and outside the area of major ash fall, it will still put up enough material into the atmosphere to cause the volcanic equivalent of a nuclear winter. What isn't killed quickly by this volcano, will die a slow death from starvation.

Now, does anybody wonder why I want a front row seat if this thing were to go off?

 

I didn't catch the show, but I will look for it when it repeats. Those topics are always fascinating and growing up the son of a geologist, I have always had a bit of a hesitation to want to live right on a fault line...especially given the high real estate prices they are getting

I used to attend a weeklong seminar on investing topics that always featured a climatologist, Dr. Iben Browning of New Mexico. One of his books, "Past and Future History, a Planner's Guide" was quite interesting, but his talks were fascinating. The bad news...cataclismic events have and will continue to happen. The good news...the timelines are such that you would really be drawing the short straw to be around for one, unless you are an overeager volcanologist who happens to be a little too close to an unexpectedly violent eruption.

I grew up in the West Texas desert, which was once coverd by the ocean, but I don't think the chances of drowning out there are all that great

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Wolfman\";p=\"80055)</div>

Wolfy:

You got it. I'll be there with you Front Row Center to catch the Big Bang.

Much like all these recent documentaries on the Giant Meteorite Of Doom, the Magnetic Reversals, and especially the Death Star: a very intense gamma ray burst that makes a supernova look like a firecracker.

I really don't get the point to all of these documentaries. To be sure, they are fascinating and I enjoy watching them. But I don't lose any sleep over it either. Most people might become really worried though watching those shows.

Say we *do* pick up the Giant Meteorite Of Doom heading our way, and it will strike the earth in one year. More than likely, +90% of all life will be wiped out, possibly 100% of all life. What do you do?

If it were up to me, I'd say nothing and erase the file. All you would create is unbelievable panic, since the only thing you could do is stick your head between your legs and kiss your a** goodbye. I imagine there would be a lot of suicides too.

If this is something like personal lifestyle choices, where we are the ultimate authority over our destiny, then people should be informed of all the facts. For something so obviously removed from our control, like the Doomsday scenarios, why even bother getting people worked up over it?

As far as living where I now live, as far as I know there has never been an earthquake here, at least during the recorded history of human habitation of this area. Tornadoes are very rare events. No hurricanes either.

Just have to put up with mosquitoes the size of hummingbirds during the summer, possibly catching West Nile Virus or another no longer tropical disease, or putting up with long bitter winters.

Whether bugs are hitting the windshield or snow is hitting the windshield, I have a lot more important things to worry about than the end of the world.

Like: did I remember to scoop out the litter box before leaving? Or will the cat get so p***** off at me that he'll poop on the floor *next* to the litter box? Geez, better turn around right now and head back to double-check.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jayman\";p=\"80156)</div>

Sounds all too familiar!!

 

Don't have Discovery Channel, but I read about these documentaries online. The one I like is that half the Canary Islands are going to fall into the ocean, creating a tsunami that will wipe out the entire east coast of North America.

Our civilization is so dependent on geography staying the same. Most major cities (built around shipping) would be decimated if the ocean rose one or two feet. Roads & rails are useless if the land splits apart. Yet we KNOW that geography changes - sometimes gradually, sometimes suddenly.

Each individual cataclysm I hear about is so remotely unlikely to occur in my lifetime that it's not worth worrying about. But there are so many unlikely cataclysms, I can't help but think I'll experience one of them.

 

I recorded it last night, watched it this morning, and finished editing out the commercials. I thought the program was great, and will be saving it to watch again.

 

I too was priviledged to study under Dr. Gary Carver at Humboldt State University. Lest California think it is immune from major seismic or volcanic activity (other than San Andreas), the Long Valley Caldera (east side of the center Sierra Nevada) has the highest potential for eruption next to Mt. Rainier. The last major sputter was about 600 years ago.

The last time Long Valley went off ash landed as far east as Nebraska and Missouri. The Long Valley Caldera has been active the last 20 years, with magma moving within 7 kilometers of the surface. Migrating carbon dioxide has worked its way up through the soil in many areas killing trees in the Mammoth Lakes area.