Navigating the Risks of Hazard Research

Alexandria, VA - When individuals die in a natural disaster or property damage is costly, can anyone be blamed? After the 2012 conviction of six Italian geoscientists on manslaughter charges related to communication about the hazards prior to the Aquila earthquake in 2009, scientists worldwide are keen to understand the risks of their hazards research.

EARTH Magazine investigates the complicated and often nuanced risks scientists face in hazard research. From the meaning of liability - defined on an international spectrum - to the legal lessons learned from climate scientists, researching the point at which Earth’s hazards impact society’s economic or morbidity appraisals requires a balancing act.

Read the entire feature story here. Or, to read the complete January issue of EARTH Magazine, which includes stories on the world’s biggest volcano and renewed debate on early human evolution because of a skull, buy the complete issue on the EARTH Magazine Digital bookstand: www.earthmagazine.org/digital.