Petra, I am happy that your water heater project made it through the legislative process. And I would say that I hope that it might eventually result in some lives being saved. However I would actually rather that there were no earthquakes occurring in California which would provide it with a chance to save some lives! But we all know that unfortunately, more destructive earthquakes can be expected to occur. So, hopefully, your water heater bill will help.

The EarthWaves board is not a major research center. And it would probably be appropriate if really serious, life and death discussions were avoided. However the threat of earthquakes destroying cities is so great that I am going to discuss some serious matters here in the hope that they might help move things forward.

Now that you have accomplished something which might result in some lives being saved I recommend that you quit while you are ahead. If you do not wish to add something to the discussions of Ear Tones then I suggest that you not post any notes at all about them. As far as I am aware you are not a scientist. And I personally feel that your notes could be slowing scientific discussions regarding these phenomena. I am afraid that people do not want to get into a heated debate with you and Don. And to avoid that they are hesitant to join in the discussions.

Here are some reasons these discussions are important. All of this information is personal opinion.

*** I have a forecasting program which relies on the evaluation of signals which usually last less than 5 minutes. And I am comparing notes with other researchers around the world regarding the signals they are detecting. But few if any of their signals have such a short duration. Ear Tones generally do. And if people post notes providing the UTC time when an Ear Tone was detected I can easily compare it with my earthquake data and see if there are any matches.

*** Researchers around the world are attempting to determine if various types of electromagnetic energy field fluctuations can be used to forecast earthquakes. And the Ear Tones appear to represent a good opportunity to learn more about the EM signals. People around the world hear them. And if they share information regarding when they are detected then it makes it easier to compare EM data collected from other sources around the world.

*** At some point there is going to be another destructive earthquake here in the U.S. And we want to do everything possible to learn how to tell when and where it will occur. If we find that quite a few people are detecting Ear Tones before a U.S. earthquake then the fact that a number of them have started reporting hearing them might by itself be enough to let U.S. forecasters know that they should begin watching for an important earthquake.

*** The U.S has military bases around the world which could be heavily damaged by earthquakes. And I believe that the U.S. military also has one of our world's largest EM signal data collection networks. I am not connected with the military. But in the past I have had numerous conversations both at the official and unofficial levels regarding earthquake forecasting with people who are or who were connected with them. As far as I am aware they are not presently especially interested in any of this. But I believe that they probably will eventually become interested in what progress is being made. As an experienced scientist I can fairly easily interact with those people. We all speak the language of science. I do not believe that you can. And if you are not careful I suspect that you could inadvertently step on some rather sensitive government toes, probably not a good idea.

*** There is another important reason which is indirectly linked with Ear Tones.

From numerous discussions I have had with people over the years etc. I know that human earthquake sensitivity can involve a number of biological responses to EM waves generated before an earthquake occurs. Ear Tones represent one. Severe headaches are a classic biological response. And there is another which is rather frightening to think about.

Some people who are especially sensitive to these EM signals can experience strong mood swings when they are being generated including temporary, severe, and virtually unmanageable depression. And that can represent a major health threatening condition.

I believe that an effective way to deal with depression like that is to discuss it with other people or to at least be able to take some comfort in the fact that you are not the only person who is encountering such a problem. And I believe that if you are someone who has to deal with that particular earthquake sensitivity symptom then seeing notes posted here about Ear Tones etc. can be helpful. For that reason if for no other I feel that you should not attempt to discourage discussions of this subject matter from being held on this bulletin board.

That 128.html report at my Web site is intended primarily to provide information to international earthquake researchers. And I periodically hear from other researchers when they read it. Another especially important reason it is there is to provide people who are earthquake sensitive with information regarding this phenomenon. I do not believe that they can find such an organized discussion anywhere else on the Internet or in any publication. Its details let them know that they are not the only people who have those unusual experiences. And that information can be potentially life saving. I recently received a letter from someone who told me that it might have saved her life. It enabled her to put her own experiences in perspective. Until she saw my Web site report she had heard only negative comments from friends and family members who kept telling her that her earthquake related experiences must be imagined etc.

So, I recommend that you quit while you are ahead. If you have accomplished something which might result in lives being saved, don't take a chance on turning back the clock and doing something else which might interfere with efforts to get some other lives saved.