Responsibilities in earthquake prediction: To the Seismological Society of America, delivered in Edmonton, Alberta, May 12, 1976

Abstract

As recently as only a year or two ago, seismologists were still debating among themselves the question of how we should interact with the public when the day finally arrived that scientific predictions of damaging earthquakes would be forthcoming. Whether we're ready or not, that day has suddenly arrived, and some of us are already a bit bloodied from our first encounters. In this address, I wish to discuss some of the responsibilities that seismologists must assume as we enter this new era of what might be called "fishbowl science," and also ways in which we can perhaps encourage the public, the news media, and public agencies to respond to predictions in the most effective and constructive ways.