BRINGING PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES INTO THE EARTH-SCIENCE CLASSROOM

Outreach courses in the earth sciences, such as "shake and bake" (earthquakes and volcanoes), tend to focus on the hazard rather than the policy issues in hazard mitigation. The Baccalaureate Core Curriculum at Oregon State University requires every undergraduate to take an upper-division synthesis course integrating science, technology, and society. To meet this need, we introduced an earthquake course that focuses on why the Cascadia subduction zone represents a significant, but under-appreciated, seismic hazard (science), what consequences are implied for the built environment by this hazard (technology), and implications of recognition of the hazard for disaster response, recovery, and mitigation for individuals, communities, and the Pacific Northwest (society). No previous earth-science course is required, so the student must be brought up to speed on geologic time, plate tectonics, faults and folds, earthquake seismology, and tectonic GPS geodesy. We then discuss fault sources in the Pacific Northwest, including the Cascadia subduction zone with its threat of an apocalyptic M9 earthquake, slab earthquakes like the 2001 Nisqually earthquake, and crustal earthquakes like those at Scotts Mills and Klamath Falls in 1993. Other topics include earthquake forecasting, tsunami response, and site effects of liquefaction, strong ground motion, and landsliding. Policy issues include the true cost of earthquake insurance and building-code and grading-ordinance standards. Students prepare a short term paper based on practically any topic related to earthquakes; sample titles include tsunami escape plans for coastal residents and retrofitting your home against earthquake damage. Other course possibilities include coastal hazards, climate change, groundwater supply and quality, and the tradeoffs between natural resource development and environmental degradation.