U.S. to upgrade volcano, earthquake monitoring

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON, April 10 (Reuters) - Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said on Friday the U.S. government will spend $15.2 million to modernize equipment for monitoring U.S. volcanoes and improve warning systems.

The United States and its territories have 169 active volcanoes, and 54 of them need improved monitoring so scientists can warn the public about explosive disruptions, alert aircraft to ash clouds and inform communities of falling ash, lava and mud flows, Salazar said.

He pointed out that the March 22 eruption of the Mount Redoubt volcano, 106 miles (170 km) southwest of Anchorage, Alaska, showed the need for adequate monitoring.

When the Redoubt volcano erupted 19 years ago, a Boeing 747 passenger airliner flew into its ash cloud and nearly crashed.



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN10236

---

Guess where the money for this project is coming from? The economic stimulus plan passed by Congress! How do you like them apples, Gov. Jindal?

BTW, here's how the USGS described the 747's experience:

As the crew of KLM Flight 867 struggled to restart the plane's engines, "smoke" and a strong odor of sulfur filled the cockpit and cabin. For five long minutes the powerless 747 jetliner, bound for Anchorage, Alaska, with 231 terrified passengers aboard, fell in silence toward the rugged, snow-covered Talkeetna Mountains (7,000 to 11,000 feet high). All four engines had flamed out when the aircraft inadvertently entered a cloud of ash blown from erupting Redoubt Volcano, 150 miles away. The volcano had begun erupting 10 hours earlier on that morning of December 15, 1989. Only after the crippled jet had dropped from an altitude of 27,900 feet to 13,300 feet (a fall of more than 2 miles) was the crew able to restart all engines and land the plane safely at Anchorage. The plane required $80 million in repairs, including the replacement of all four damaged engines.

And that, boys and girls, is why we need to monitor volcanoes.

[Drunken Irishman]

1. Mr. Bobby Jindal won't approve of this!

[indepat]

2. Jesus, just think of the probably trillions of dollars expended to protect us from

an al Queda-type terrorist attack versus this pittance to be now be expended to warn us of impending horrific damage from an erupting volcano so maybe tens of thousands could flee from harm's way. Simply amazing. :P

[rocktivity]

3. Thus ending Bobby Jindal's future political aspirations.

Cue the Vonage theme!

:woohoo:
rocktivity

[Ian David]

4. We just need to sacrifice Bobby The Exorcist Jindal to a volcano. n/t

[tanyev]

5. He could perform an exorcism on the volcano, to get rid of the fire demon!

:think:

[seafan]

6. That acrid smell is Bobby Jindal's political career melting.

U.S. to upgrade volcano, earthquake monitoring, April 10, 2009

....

The United States and its territories have 169 active volcanoes, and 54 of them need improved monitoring so scientists can warn the public about explosive disruptions, alert aircraft to ash clouds and inform communities of falling ash, lava and mud flows, Salazar said.

He pointed out that the March 22 eruption of the Mount Redoubt volcano, 106 miles (170 km) southwest of Anchorage, Alaska, showed the need for adequate monitoring.

When the Redoubt volcano erupted 19 years ago, a Boeing 747 passenger airliner flew into its ash cloud and nearly crashed.

.....

The eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991. Monitoring stations allowed officials to evacuate the area beforehand.

But Democratic leaders in Congress -- they rejected this approach. Instead of trusting us to make wise decisions with our own money, they passed the largest government spending bill in history, with a price tag of more than $1 trillion with interest. While some of the projects in the bill make sense, their legislation is larded with wasteful spending. It includes .... $140 million for something called "volcano monitoring." Instead of monitoring volcanoes, what Congress should be monitoring is the eruption of spending in Washington, D.C.----Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, February 24, 2009

[Coventina]

7. "But that totally ruins the surprise!" - Colbert n/t