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After the Earthquake -- Living in an Information Vacuum April 2011 So did information systems. Without electricity, there was no chance of my regular daily net surf to bring science news to SciTechDaily fans around the world. Instead we found ourselves hunting basic information about what was happening down the street -- did anyone have a functioning cellphone? was there a water tanker somewhere? could rockfalls from the cliff threaten more houses? Peter and I ended up running a neighbourhood info service on the street corner using a piece of plywood, pens, tape and business cards to let people know about utility progression, street evacuations and lost/found pets; charging cellphones by tapping into the local cellphone-tower generator; figuring out where the nearest place to shower was and which outlets understood the desperate need to swap out-of-date gas cylinders for new ones.
We lugged our office printer down to the corner generator, put up a gazebo for some shelter, and started producing a newsletter for the immediate area to get the information flowing -- clearly water was going to take a lot longer to get back, but information was just as vital. Knowing more about what was happening and, more specifically, what was being done in this area, helped reduce the Fear, Uncertainty and Dread factors, and kept people from abandoning the suburb and the city. Once we managed to get web access through a mobile hookup, getting that information online meant those who had left could see it was worth coming home. That, and an ad hoc grassroots disaster relief effort to bring much-needed supplies into the worst-hit areas, took priority over almost anything else in our lives for the following weeks. In the middle of all that, there was far too much attention paid to the "supermoon" idea that the March 20th Full Moon would bring another huge earthquake. It was said that 50,000 people fled our city, spooked by the prediction. As a local NZ Skeptics rep, I fielded a lot of calls, emails and activities to try to counter this fear. It was a very sad example of where misinformation can be just as harmful as no information at all. Things are now heading back to normal, for a given value of normal, that is. Power and water are back on, though the lights went off for a time last night and we're still boiling the water. Streets boast about how many portaloos they have. We've run out of face masks -- bought in case of a flu epidemic but also handy against the choking silt windstorms resulting from the vast amounts of liquefaction. The kids had classes in a still-functional McDonalds; a shared school site now sees their day run from 1pm to 5.30pm. Our elderly dog died after a forced night-time evacuation, but we now have a very cute puppy called Mercalli in honour of the times. It's certainly a different kind of normal. Resuming SciTechDaily is a very welcome sign that the acute phase of our post-quake recovery is over. But there's a loooong way to go yet. My thanks to all of you who enquired and wished us well. We know now that we can withstand a major disaster, so long as there is a good dollop of resilience, determination and initiative. When it came down to it, it wasn't lack of electricity or food or sewerage that we found the most crippling and demoralising -- it was that lack of information. We'll be sharing our experiences in the hopes that, next time disaster strikes, there will be more robust systems in place. Regards,
SciTechDaily's Story The Team: Vicki Hyde, Closer to Truth SciTechDaily Review was founded in late 1998 as a labour of love, when the irrepressible Denis Dutton of Arts & Letters Daily fame badgered a friend into making a sister site. The idea was to link to the most thought-provoking, well researched online items in the world of science and technology. The New York Times coined a new term for it - a "porthole" site, where the view is concentrated into a specific area of interest, and said that this approach represented a major new Internet trend. Not bad for a site that had been online at that stage for three days! Two years on and SciTechDaily was lucky enough to find a marriage of like minds in the form of science media initiative Closer to Truth initiative. An alliance was formed to boldly go forth and spread the word of the role of science and technology in society. It's been more than a five-year mission…. Why eppur si muove? It's what Galileo is alleged to have said on going into house arrest -- "but it does move...." We like to think that it represents the indomitable nature of the questioning, questing mind...the sort that would appreciate SciTechDaily! Show your appreciation with a PayPal donation. It’s easy, here’s how. Vicki Hyde, Founder and Managing Editor
I'm a sucker for promoting a greater understanding of science and technology and the part it plays in our lives. It started with science fairs at school, and has been a part of my life ever since. I spent ten years editing, publishing and posting our country's only general interest science magazine, the New Zealand Science Monthly. I've headed the NZ Skeptics as their Chair-entity, and been a supporter of groups such as the NZ Association of Scientists, the Association of Women in Science, and a whole host of others. I've talked to school children, conferences and service groups by the truckload about why they need to know about science and technology and the part these important subjects play in our lives and our society. You might think it's a crazy role for someone who's never actually been a scientist, but I get a delight out of discovery. That's why SciTechDaily, and its part in the Closer to Truth science discourse initiative, means a lot to me. As a society, whether it's New Zealand or New England, we need to understand where we are going and the best way to get there. What I really want to do is fly through Mars' Valles Marineris. Though these days I'd settle for getting into orbit (anyone got some spare millions?). Onward, ever onward, Vicki Closer to Truth: COSMOS CONSCIOUSNESS, GOD Closer To Truth explores fundamental issues of universe, brain/mind, religion, meaning and purpose through intimate, candid conversations with leading scientists, philosophers, scholars, theologians and creative thinkers of all kinds. More background info here Check out the new CTT Website |
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