By Dr. Robert Thorson The great earthquake that struck coastal Chile on Feb. 27 is becoming old news, at least for those not directly affected. With the immediacy of human suffering and the blitz of disaster recovery fading, the time has come to draw an important lesson. Earthquakes are an epiphenomenon. If epicenter can be […]

By Dr. Robert Thorson Most of us have heard of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. But has anyone ever heard of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Rocks? No, because it doesn’t exist. Yet, that may be just what’s needed in order to liberate Plymouth Rock from its ridiculous, […]

By Dr. Robert Thorson Finally, the federal climate watchdogs got it right. The just-released U.S. National Climate Assessment avoids pie-in-the-sky abstractions like “saving the planet before it’s too late” and instead concentrates on regional changes affecting our lives today. This regional approach is tacit proof that climate politics have finally caught up with climate science. […]

By Dr. Robert Thorson Planet Pluto has been demoted. This is great news because it demonstrates that science is more of a process than a product, more method than body of knowledge. New information always accumulates until a tipping point is reached, at which point the conceptual world is reorganized. No longer will Pluto be […]

By Dr. Robert Thorson Has the recent disaster in Japan made you jittery about large earthquakes and tsunamis? Are your family and friends waiting for the next “Big One” somewhere along the U.S. Pacific Coast? If you’re concerned about earthquake magnitude and tsunami potential, then I suggest you focus your thoughts northward, away from central […]

By Dr. Robert Thorson The University of Connecticut’s Spring Weekend 2004 is history. To put the week behind us without a single fatality, unauthorized fire or flipped car — and to do so with a crowd exceeding 20,000 young people fueled by the volatile mix of hormones and alcohol — is almost a miracle. Who […]

By Dr. Robert Thorson Shore Up Connecticut is a policy mistake. A state loan program named Shore Back Connecticut would make more sense because retreat from the coast is the only viable long-term option. Recent developments in Antarctica have made this crystal clear. As I write, the edge of the Thwaites Glacier is thinning and […]

By Dr. Robert Thorson How long is one month? Long enough for mass culture to completely forget about the strongest earthquake to rattle the Eastern U.S. in decades, one felt by more people than any other in U.S. history. It was certainly exciting while it lasted. Millions of Americans heard thunks, rattles, buzzes and clatters. […]

By Dr. Robert Thorson When is a rock not a rock? When you pass through airport security. Then it becomes a potential weapon, one capable of bringing an airplane down. I’m mad. I can think of a better way to combat terrorism than taking mineral specimens away from geologists traveling to their conferences. I suggest […]

By Dr. Robert Thorson Some will think I’m a heartless scientist. But I know a good opportunity for addressing a lingering environmental issue when I see one. When I saw my first images of the I-35W bridge collapse between the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, my thoughts went immediately to the human tragedy […]