Sunday, March 30, 2014

"Warnings by Pesky Scientists"

And, sure enough, logging above the area of the current landslide appears to have gone beyond the legal limits, into the area that slid, according to a report in The Seattle Times.

Yes, but who wants to listen to warnings by pesky scientists, to pay heed to predictions by environmental nags, or allow an intrusive government to limit private property rights? That’s how these issues get cast. And that’s why reports like the ones done on the Stillaguamish get shelved. The people living near Oso say nobody ever informed them of the past predictions.

-- Timothy Egan, A Mudslide, Foretold, New York Times, March 29, 2014

2 comments:

George Montgomery said...

Given the anti-science sentiment fostered and expressed by certain individuals and groups, some people affected by the mudslide may have chosen to ignore the warnings.
It's hard to say what they would have done.
When it comes to potential disasters we should heed the lesson to be learned from the Mt. St. Helen eruption: Expect the worst.

Dano said...

Many of the people out there are out there to get away from gummint. Of course they wouldn't seek out warnings.

Best,

D