Actually, someone on Usenet came up with a similar idea some years ago, that most earthquakes were caused by electromagnetic vortices, and this led to a huge discussion that went on for ages. In fact it turns out that the idea that earthquakes are electrical in nature and analagous to lightning goes back to the mid 18th century, and was trashed (rightly) as being of no value in the 19th. Sometimes reading the history of science can be quite illuminating.

As for your other point, it is not necessary to be able to demonstrate prediction to show that you understand something. I know the physics involved in throwing dice, but that doesn't mean I can predict what number I'm going to throw.