Canie, good points. An email to Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC), which I have not done yet, would suggest that SCEC work with the networks and cable news organizations to make sure that they have lists and contact information of qualified people to call upon to explain natural disasters (also, those who are good at this in the different settings). I might suggest that SCEC work with USGS on this, but not limit the contacts to USGS people. Petra linked to an excellent report by local news....because the local news in her area knew who to contact...and had USGS at hand. I might also suggest that SCEC encourage SCEC researchers to contribute information to the SCEC web page...several days after the earthquake there was only a link to the USGS-NEIC page. For example, I could have contributed a diagram of the difference between epicenter and rupture area...because I STILL have not seen anyone discuss this on the news.

For the letter to EOS...you caught me...I had not thought that out clearly....but, even if they already know, the problems this time would be pointed out, and then some possible solutions. The solutions would run along the same lines as the email to SCEC. But, it would also include a call to news organizations to be more careful and more responsible...for example, to make sure that if they use meteorologists to explain geology/geophysics that they have an in-depth understanding of what they are talking about....in this case, that CNN skip trying to explain tsunamis until they have someone who understands them on-hand. That CNN (I have to double-check that it was not MSNBC) not sensationalize things like the interview with Leonardo Seeber...where a non-scientist who was not listening carefully could think that there was a link between Manhattan earthquakes and megatsunamis.

But...if you are interested....for the EOS letter...why don't you do some deep thought and come up with some better ideas for purpose and what a letter could accomplish...and we co-write this. I may ask L. "Nano" Seeber if, after his experience, he would be interested in co-writing this.

There is an opportunity here for education...the public is more interested in certain areas of earth science than they have ever been, and scientists feel like they want to do something and communicate...
Chris