The Cutting Edge

What will take to convince the public and the government that earthquakes are events millions of years in the making? Your article on earthquake readiness was most timely (see Lax School Construction Oversight Raises Doubts about Earthquake Safety, Features April 11, 2011). Shall we learn nothing from the Japan calamity? The planet does not ask for permission before disrupting the landscape. We must be prepared not just for the recent past, but for the geological past.