Short Jog Along Flume Trail

Taking running advice from non-runners is never a good idea. Yesterday our friend drove us up our street (so far we'd only gone down into town) and showed us the start of Perseverance Trail and the Flume trail across the way as well as the creek trail in the middle that goes to Cope Park.  When I asked about running it as a loop, he seemed to think it was a bit far.   Well, today I decided to explore what all was there.  The first picture is not far from our place, looking down Gold Street along the east side of downtown Juneau. (from 1 to the bottom of the map) (Juneau readers, please indulge my exploring your well known paths.)  But I was headed in the opposite direction, and fortunately, I'm already pretty much at the top of the hill.  From here it loops to the right onto Basin Road.

There were people walking their dogs along here, still some houses, but very quickly I'm into pretty dramatic scenery.  Well, with the very steep mountains all around Juneau, it's all in dramatic scenery. 





At 2 there's a bridge and a branch to the Flume trail.  But I wasn't sure and went over the bridge and up what appeared to be a trail, though it was covered with snow and there weren't really obvious footprints.  I think it was a trail, but it looked like it was going up and I knew that wasn't right so I backtracked to the bridge and took this picture up Gold Creek  (Basin Road here is blocked to cars during the winter) toward Perseverance Trail and Juneau's gold mining origins.  The second picture of the creek looks to the bridge to the Flume Trail.

So I got to the Flume Trail.  It's really pretty short.  So, what's a flume?  Not exactly an everyday word.  According to Wikipedia:

A flume is an open artificial water channel, in the form of a gravity chute, that leads water from a diversion dam or weir completely aside a natural flow. Often, the flume is an elevated box structure (typically wood) that follows the natural contours of the land. These have been extensively used in hydraulic mining and working placer deposits for gold, tin and other heavy minerals. They are also used in the transportation of logs in the logging industry, electric power generation and to power various mill operations by the use of a waterwheel.

And that's exactly what this is.  A wooden box following the contours alongside a creek.  And while this is Gold Creek, I had to use almost the full citation because it was the last purpose that was important here -  electric power generation. 




Here's more from the sign at the end of the flume (3 on the map.)  The sign was pretty hard to read - it wasn't just the photo - so I did find the same description in PDF form.

And from here I had a glimpse through the trees back into the modern world - Juneau and Douglas across the water. 









Now I was out of the woods and back on a street with houses.  And very quickly came to the sign pointing to the stairs to the cemetery. 



We'd passed the cemetery yesterday as we were being driven around, so I figured the cemetery was probably a good way to go. 

 

Steep stairs down.   Then past the cemetery and past this brightly colored house.  I'm starting to realize that although Juneau has longer days in the winter than Anchorage, in Anchorage we probably get more light.  We've been here about five days and I don't think I've seen any blue sky, let alone sunshine.  I remember coming to Juneau once in May and it was sunny for the three days I was there.  But the people in Juneau said it was the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth days of sun for the year.  So, a brightly painted house like this adds a little cheer. 

And then I was in Cope Park.  Just a stairway from home. 

I've played tennis at this park tennis court once.  But that was summer.  Is this why they invented green tennis balls?

And then the stairs back up.

Back on 7th Street and almost home

I hadn't noticed this sign before. I'll have to follow up and see what exactly they study.



All in all, it turned out to be a very short and easy run.  The post took longer to put up.  [If you ever wonder why blogspot bloggers like to post large pictures in the center of the page instead of alternating left and right like this, it's because this is a pain in the neck to do on blogger.  The pictures and text do not show up in the composing window the way they will on the blog.  Even the preview, while closer, isn't accurate.  It's only when I actually post this that I'll know if it worked or not.  If not, I have to go back in and move things around.  Blogger, are you listening?]

For people who haven't been to Juneau (probably most of you), the map just shows downtown which is pretty small (manageable by human power.)  There is more of Juneau further north and south as well as Douglas Island.  It's been Alaska's state capital since 1906.  According to Wikipedia, the 2008 Census population estimate was 30,988 and the

 area of Juneau is larger than that of Rhode Island and Delaware individually and almost as large as the two states combined.

Bamboo Grows in Juneau

Juneau is NOT Anchorage.  At 61˚ North latitude, Anchorage is north of Stockholm and Olso (both 59˚.)  Juneau is 58˚.  (Belfast and Copenhagen are 54˚, Amsterdam 52˚, London is 51˚, Seattle is 47˚, and New York City is 40˚N.)  We visited an old friend yesterday afternoon and he has bamboo, not just growing, but thriving, in his front yard.  That shouldn't be a shock since bamboo grows in Beijing where it can also get cold in winter.  Being right on the water keeps Juneau temperatures from getting overly hot or overly cold. 

But we Anchorage folk assume that a foot of snow on the ground in January is going to stick around a while.  Well, here's a picture I took our first night, when we'd just gotten into our apartment. 

And here's the same view, today, five days later.

I'm going to do an exploration jog.  We were going to head out to the Martin Luther King Jr. celebration, but it turns out that is in the valley, not downtown where we could walk.  Joan has figured out the bus system a bit, but we're not even sure it runs on a holiday.

Unpacking and Setting Up the Office

Saturday the three of us staff members met at the office to unpack the boxes that had been shipped from the Anchorage office.   This is part of the glamorous work of being a legislative staffer.  Rep. G. and his wife arrived on the Alaska ferry from Whittier about ten am.  People said it was a three day crossing and part of the trip had some decent swells.  We also compared notes about what we'd heard in the training, both from the presenters and from other staffers. 

We all had one experience in common.  When we told people who we were working for, people who've been here before, immediately said, "Oh, Mr. Amendment."  Rep. G has the reputation, we were told, over and over again, of fixing details in bills.  We also hear - this we knew already - that he's smart, extremely decent, and that he'll work us hard.  

We unpacked the boxes with books and put them onto the shelves in chronological order (the series of law books) but decided we should wait for Rep. G to come in to let us know how we wanted the other stuff put away.  All of us are new this year, so we have to rely somewhat on staffers from other offices until we get our bearings. 

Here's Ted.  Another question I got from people when they learned I was in Rep. G's office was, "Are you an attorney?"  Well, Ted is headed for law school. 

And, Gretchen, the other staffer, recently graduated from law school graduate and passed the Alaska bar. 

We took a lunch break.  Gretchen went to walk her dog and Ted and I went to pick up the suitcase he had driven down for us.  The snow was off the steep hill where we live so it was an easy haul.  Then we met back in the office with Rep. G.

Some of it was pretty mundane - where the chairs go, where to file things, settling which staff member is going to focus on which committees and who would be in charge of basic office functions.  There's scheduling and making daily calendars, constituency work, monitoring emails, etc. 

Friday Afternoon Training Sessions

The ethics was in the morning.  J met me in the State Office Building for lunch.  I saw in the newspaper that on Fridays they have an organ concert at noon.  They also have public access wifi from the state library in the building. 

The music was mostly what I'd call merry-go-round organ music.  Inspiring in a very casual way.  You can read several articles on the history of the organ the Puget Sound Theater Organ Society website.  It begins like this:

In 1928, W.D. Gross, pioneer Alaska theater owner, had the organ built for his Coliseum Theater on South Franklin Street. The instrument complemented silent movies and was used until 1926, when talking motion pictures replaced the silents.
 

Obviously, they didn't mean 1926.  It did say it was moved to another theater in 1939. 

The afternoon sessions included presentations by the Building Manager, the Chief of Security, a Fire Safety person, people from the Supply Office and Mail Room, the Accounting Supervisor, people from the Print Shop and Documents offices, the Legislative Information and Teleconferencing Offices, the Director of Legal Services, the Legal Research Manager, and the Librarian.

Everyone was knowledgeable and seemed genuinely interested in making sure we knew what services they provided and how we could contact them and use them efficiently.  They all conveyed that they knew there was lots to learn and it was okay to ask 'dumb' questions.  Someone in the accounting office warned us to be careful what information we put down on accounting documents ('use your office addresses and phone numbers, not your home info') because this is all public information should someone care to ask for it.

The Legislative Information Office was particularly interesting to me.  I was vaguely aware of them but going to the downtown office to participate in a teleconference with legislators seemed pretty intimidating and I was skeptical about the impact.  But I'm ready to take a second look.  The people at that office do outreach into communities across the state to help people be more comfortable about coming in and participating.  I would imagine their impact would be greater in rural communities than in Anchorage where there are so many people.

It would be interesting to know whether people on the other end feel the same way about the LIO.  Did I feel intimidated because of my own expectations or because of how it is?  Since I've never actually tried to go to a teleconferenced hearing, I guess it was my own bias.

But a lot of what goes on in Juneau is also available online.  Here's a link to one of the State pages.
Here's part of that page below:

The Legislative Research Service conducts research for legislators on non-legal issues. Their webpage includes a list of links, including a page where you can search for old reports they've done.

Around 3:30 we moved over to the House Finance Committee Conference Room which is on the fifth floor of the Capitol Building.  (I'll try to discuss the key buildings later when I figure them out.)  This was lead by the chief of staff of the House Rules Committee and included the House Sergeant at Arms, the Chief Clerk, the House Records Supervisor, and one more person who wasn't on our agenda and whose title I think was Rules Committee Aide. 

The Lounge was mentioned.  As I understood it, this is where Reps can go eat and relax.  The only other people allowed there are Sergeant of Arms staff such as the pages.  Staff are not even allowed to knock on the door.  If staff needs to get a message to their legislator, they have to give a note to a page.  But there's a new service this year - again, this is what I understood was said - so that staff can order sandwiches from the Lounge as a separate window. 

They also went through the protocol for the House Floor.  Again, legislators only, plus pages and other Sergeant of Arms staff.  Notes must go through the pages.  Staffers (and the public) can view from the gallery, but even there, no cell phones, no texting, no flash photography.  No disturbances. 

The Chief Clerk went into detail about paper work necessary for moving bills along and how to track them.  Chit sheets are long, narrow yellow sheets with the names of each of the representatives.  I'm not completely sure what these are used for - I think they help keep track of who is supporting bills and I think someone said they were used for voting before electronic voting.  The Rules Chair, we were told, would no longer require these be turned in with each bill.  When we recounted this to Rep. G he had a big smile and highly praised the Rules Chair for this move. 

The Records Officer said all meetings - except  subcommittee and task force meetings - are recorded digitally and then transcribed.  Staff could borrow the equipment for those other meetings if they wished.  I understood that all these are made available on line.  I'm not sure if the recordings are or just the transcripts. But I think the recordings.  I think these can be found on the Media page above. 

It's Sunday morning.  We were supposed to meet in the office at 9am to do more unpacking.  We have a friend coming to meet us at 10:30.  I got to the office and no one was there.  So I checked my messages and they'd decided to come in later, so I took advantage of the break to catch up on the blogging.  But I have to run now.  Have a good Sunday.  The snow is pretty much gone from the streets and sidewalks now.  Just the shrinking berms where snow was pushed and the green areas still have snow. 

Ethics Training Session

We did three and a half hours Friday going over the ethics standards.  This is territory I know pretty well, in general, but I don’t know the details of the State Law, so this was useful.  

Joyce Anderson, the Administrator of the Legislative Ethics Committee, went through a long Powerpoint and fortunately we all got copies so I can go back and remember what was said.  We also got copies of the Standards of Conduct Handbook (pdf). A key point early on, from the slides,  was:

Two aspects to being ETHICAL
Knowing right from wrong
Having the moral willpower to do what’s right (discipline)

So yesterday’s session was designed to help us know right from wrong.  There seemed to be five key areas though considerable time was spent on gifts. 

1. Gifts
1. No gifts over $250 from anyone.
2. No gifts from lobbyists.  Period.
2. Separating Political and Personal Activity from Legislative Activity Paid for by the State 
1. Don’t do Legislator’s personal chores while on the Legislative payroll
2. Don’t do any campaign related work while on the legislative payroll
3. Constituent Services
   
1. Legislators and staff may help constituents determine how to get through the state system, but may not advocate for constituents dealing with state officials
4. Potential conflicts of interest must be Disclosed
5. Other  
1. Legislator or legislative employee may not disclose information deemed confidential by statute.
2. Legislative Employees may not file a letter of intent or declaration of candidacy to become a state or national candidate
3. Legislator or legislative employee may not request or accept compensation greater than the value of the services performed. (To prevent companies from ‘hiring’ legislators in the interim as a form of ‘gift’ rather than serious employment.)
   

I think that those are the basic areas.  But the handbook in the picture is 121 pages long because there are lots of exceptions, gray areas, and examples.  Here's a little more on some of those categories.



Gifts

The $250 limit is cumulative from any one person or entity, but there is no limit on how many people a staffer could get up to $250 worth of gifts from.  This includes everything from Money, Loans, Services (Cleaning, child care, legal advice, etc.), Entertainment, Hospitality (stay at a home, room at a hotel), things (flowers, clothes, etc.), Promise or Other Form.  (Promise of payment whether it's carried out or not.)

Also, there’s a distinction between gifts connected to one’s legislative status and gifts NOT related.  But this too can become complicated if a person is both a good friend or relative and also has business affected by the legislature. 


With lobbyists, there are a couple of exceptions on the no gift policy. 
First the basic rule:

Gifts from a registered lobbyist OR immediate family OR a person acting on behalf of a lobbyist are prohibited.

Exceptions:

1. Food and drink (for immediate consumption)
1. Lobbyist must report to APOC if the value of food and beverage exceeds $15
2. Gifts from an Immediate Family Member (spouse or domestic partner; OR parent, child or sibling under certain circumstances (this means the lobbyist is the immediate family member)
3. Contributions on behalf of a charity or charity event
4. Contributions to a charity
5. Compassionate gift

Let’s clarify.  A lobbyist can take a legislator or legislative staff member out to eat, but only up to $15.  If over $15 it has to be reported.  This includes not just the legislator or staff member, but also their the spouse or domestic partner.

However, “If the food and beverage is provided as part of an event open to all legislators or employees, no disclosure is required.” (Handbook, p. 29)

Charity events are also a big thing in Juneau apparently and it is okay for a lobbyist to buy a ticket to a charity dinner and give the ticket to a legislator or legislative employee.  There is a limit of $250 per lobbyist per legislator per year for charity events. So, if there were a Haiti Rescue Chairty Dinner next week, a lobbyist could buy and give five $50 tickets to Rep. G for him and his staff and wife  to go.  BUT, the Alaska Legislative Council must approve the charity event in advance.

A compassionate gift is when there is a health-related emergency, catastrophe, or tragedy.  To qualify it must have prior written approval from the chair of the Legislative Council and Ethics Committee and some other requirements.  Flowers, fruit baskets, etc. do not require pre-approval. 


Separating Legislative and Personal Status is intended, in the case of staff, to keep the staff from doing the legislator’s personal chores while on the state budget.  The only things staff are allowed to do while being paid by the State are activities that are legislative functions.  The Powerpoint slides tell us, however,

"There is no definition of 'legislative purpose' in the Legislative Ethics Act"

And sometimes the line is blurred.  An example from the handbook (page 10):

Q:  May a legislator or legislative employee ask or allow staff to pick up a clean shirt at the dry cleaners if the legislator or employee just spilled ink on the shirt being worn and must soon attend a meeting?
A:  Yes, this falls within the infrequent and unusual situation rule. 

Staff are not allowed to schedule non-legislative events on the legislator’s calendar, however, they are allowed to record such events, made by the legislator, on the calendar to avoid double booking the legislator.  There's an attempt, in these examples, to have rules but recognize that there are times when it's reasonable to make adjustments.

Also in this category is separating legislative and campaign functions.  So there are strict rules against using State funded legislative newsletters to campaign.  Factors for evaluating if something is allowed include:  Timing (how close it is to the election); Content (is it legislative or candidate info?); and Audience.  But mentioning anything about one’s campaign is prohibited.  Newsletters are not allowed 60 days before an election unless there is prior approval. 

Legislators are not allowed to do any campaigning from the office.  However, if someone calls and asks a campaign question, the staffer doesn't have to just hang up.  The staffer can  refer the caller to a campaign phone number or website.  This same ‘receptive’ rule is in effect if, say, the doctor's office called to change an appointment.  A staffer could check the schedule and change the appointment time. 

Constituent issues.  Legislators and their staff are allowed to assist their constituents with problems with State agencies - say an issue over their Permanent Fund Check.  The assistance is restricted to helping the constituent determine the right office to contact, understand the procedure, etc.  The legislator or staff is NOT to take the role of advocate or tell the State agency personnel how to resolve the problem. 

Disclosure.  There are situations when legislators and staffers must file official disclosures.

Gifts

1. If Legislative related
1. aggregate total under $250 from same person/entity in a calendar year, NO disclosure required. 
2. aggregate total over $250 from same person/entity in a calendar year (some are permitted)  disclosure required.
2. If Non-Legislative related 
1. - over $250 is required and disclosure may be required

Other required disclosures:

1. Membership on a Board of Directors
2. State Benefit and Loan Programs
1. there’s a long list of programs (from the Violent Crimes Compensation Board and Right of Way Easement to the Agricultural Revolving Loan Fund)
2. -State Contracts and Grants, if annual value is $5000 or more 
3. Close Economic Association
1. If there is a financial relationships between legislators, legislative employees, public officials (as defined in Statute) and registered lobbyists
2. These might include any business or employment or even rental agreements
4. Financial agreement to represent a client before a state agency, board or commission

The group that interprets the law is the Select Committee on Legislative Ethics composed of

Public Members - Dennis ‘Skip’ Cook (Fairbanks);  H. Conner Thomas (Nome), Gary J. Turner (Chair)(Soldotna); Ann Rabinowitz (Anchorage); Herman G. Walker Jr.  (Anchorage)

Legislative Members - Senator Gary Stevens (Alt Senator Joe Thomas);  Senator Tom Wagoner (alt Senator Bill Wielechowski);  Vacant (Rep. John Coghill moved to the Senate) (Alt.  Rep. Carl Gatto);  Rep. Berta Gardner (Alt. Rep. Les Gara)

I don't recall hearing what the penalties are for violations.  I guess I should look that up.

This is a lot to swallow in three and a half hours.  Just to write this post, I had to go back through my notes and the handbook carefully to be sure I had it right. And I don't guarantee that it is all correct.  But it gives a sense of what all is involved.

That was just the morning session on Friday.  But I'll stop here and try to cover the other afternoon later.

Meanwhile, rain and wind are quickly getting rid of the snow.  I've had a hard time getting to good wifi spots, plus there's just been a lot to do. And the ferry from Whittier arrived this morning carrying lots of legislators and staff members and their cars.  Monday is Martin Luther King's Birthday Holiday, so the session begins on Tuesday.  But things are starting to happen.  We spent part of today unpacking the boxes that arrived from the Anchorage office.

Snowy Juneau

Here's looking down our street this morning at downtown Juneau as I went to this morning's ethics training session. 

The wisdom of this kind of stairway is a lot more obvious when it's snowing than in the summer. This means there's an alternative to getting down the hill on an icy sidewalk.

ADN Outsources to Philippines

I forgot to mention this.  When we canceled our Anchorage Daily News  home delivery before we left.  It took a while to get the operator who turned out to be in the Philippines.  Last time we canceled was in October last year and I didn't notice then that the person wasn't in Anchorage.  Maybe it was already outsourced.  I understand that businesses do this to save money by centralizing their phone answering services nationally and I understand that the ADN is owned by McClatchy.  But still, calling to tell your local newspaper should temporarily stop delivery being answered by someone in the Philippines seems a bit much.  I wonder how much they save by doing that?  And what happened to the person who used to do that in Anchorage? 

Staff Orientation Day 1

This morning was orientation for new legislative staff from 8:30am in the gym in the Terry Miller Legislative Office Building.  It's really close to our apartment - maybe a 5 minute walk, even in the breakup like slush on the streets.  It was packed for the opening with a lot of different categories of folks there - pages, interns, other staff, etc.  The picture was during a break later in the day after most of the others had left and just new legislative staffers stayed.

Rep. Nancy Dalhlstrom, the Chairman of the House Rules Committee welcomed everyone and emphasized the important role that the staff play and the need to respect the office and serve with honor.   


The presentations covered the normal topics for new employee orientation such as employment policies, how to get your paycheck, the benefits package, avoiding discriminatory practices, information services and the do's and don'ts on State computers.





One section, not in the normal employee orientation, was on Citations.  This was about Legislative citations in memoriam or to honor people for outstanding achievements. 




During the lunch break I joined the other two staffers in Rep. G's office and they got keys for the office and key cards to get into other areas.  I'm still in volunteer limbo, so nothing for me.  We then checked out the office which is full of boxes that were shipped down from Anchorage last week.  We've agreed to meet Saturday morning to empty the boxes and set up the office.

The Capitol building is really quite nice with lots of interesting art and historical photos.  I'll surely share some of that as time goes by.  I'm still figuring out where I can get to wifi hotspots and how to get wifi into the apartment.  (There's one in the gym so I stayed here after the others left.  There are several in the Capitol building too I was told.)  I'm starting to meet staff from different offices and trying to keep names and faces straight. 

In the afternoon there was a particularly good video on dealing with people who stereotype people in offensive ways called "Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts."   The Ouch! website offers these objectives for the film:

• Understand the impact of stereotpes and biased statements, even when casually said.
• Identify the most common reasons people sit silent in the face of bias and stereotypes.
• Enhance skills for speaking up against stereotypes without blame or guilt.
  

It gave examples of situations where people say things that could be offensive and ways to respectfully make the point that someone has just generalized about a whole category of people.  It also recognized that people in these situations are often emotional and liable to not articulate their concern well.


Time to get going. I've stuck around in the gym after the training because there's wifi access in here.  Tomorrow we start with mandatory ethics training.

Anchorage to Juneau

Last time we flew was the end of October and the airport's remodeling is done. The old terminal B was fancied up, but basically looks like terminal B. The floor is fancier, the bathrooms at the end are on the other side, and there's this flock of geese.

Here's the Chugach Range from the airport.

And as we waited to take off the sun came out bright.

And we're now above 10,000 feet over the Chugach just past Eagle River.

And soon we're slipping into the clouds.

It was raining when we landed in Cordova. Yes, I know, I should have paid attention and not gotten us on the milk run, but the time was better, the price was better, and we weren't in a great hurry.

There weren't a lot of people on the plane. Never more than twenty I don't think. Here we're waiting at Cordova for a few passengers to come on.

You can see the rain drops on the window as we're about to take off at Cordova.

And a few passengers got off at Yakutat.

And this book Catherine lent me kept my attention all the way to Juneau. We arrived early. The apartment is fine. They had a snow storm yesterday, but the streets have sort of been cleared and the walkway to our basement apartment was cleared. We're on a hill and face south onto a garden.

On this day as Bill Allen adjusts to prison, we had dinner at the Baranof Hotel.

I have training for new legislative staff tomorrow morning at 8:30.  So I need to get some sleep.

Seven Point O

First, I must offer my sympathy to the people suffering in Haiti and their relatives around the world trying to find out what has happened.  This is a tragedy that all of us have to be touched by.  Second, there are organizations prepared to assist the people of Haiti, but be careful of the scammers who are sure to be soliciting money to help in the earthquake.  Give to organizations you know are good.  Charity Navigator is an online site that evaluates charitbable organizations.


The Richter Scale is not understood by many people, especially those who don't live in earthquake country.   One reporter I heard this morning was reporting aftershocks "almost as powerful as the original."  The original is being reported as 7.0.  The big aftershocks she mentioned were "as high as 5.0."

These are not even close.  Every point on the Richter Scale is TEN times higher than the previous point.  So, 6.0 is TEN times more powerful than a 5.0.  And 7.0 is then ten times ten, or, 100 times more powerful than a 5.0.  So, as I say, a 5.0 aftershock is not even close to a 7.0

I grew up in Los Angeles, and have spent most of my life in Anchorage, both in earthquake country.  The largest earthquake I've experienced was a 6.6 in LA in 1971.   In LA, there was some damage at 6.6, and in the epicenter a new hospital collapsed.  But overall things paused for a few days as schools and other buildings were inspected and then life went on.

San Francisco's 1989 Loma Prieta  earthquake "measured 6.9 on the moment magnitude scale^[5] (surface-wave magnitude 7.1) or 7.0 on the open ended Richter Scale.^[1]"(from Wikipedia.)  The death tool was 63.  While there was significant damage (estimated at $6 billion), it appears that the damage and death toll were significantly less than what is being reported in Haiti.  In Port Au Prince, according to the NY Times:

The earthquake, the worst in the region in more than 200 years, left the country in a shambles. As night fell in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, fires burned near the shoreline downtown, but otherwise the city fell into darkness. The electricity was out, telephones were not working and relief workers struggled to make their way through streets blocked by rubble.
In the chaos, it was not possible for officials to determine how many people had been killed and injured, but they warned that the casualties could be substantial.

A more recent story online reports "a death toll tentatively estimated by Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive at more than 100,000."

Wrath of God or lack of adequate building standards?

God is one of the stories people use to explain how the earth works.  "Government is evil" is another story that people use to explain things.  Another story we can use is that much of what government does is invisible and we don't notice it until it isn't working.  Zoning rules, including building standards, are often seen as one of the evils of government.  People resent government rules that say they can't build a house the way they want or that they have to use a method that will increase the costs considerably. And sometimes general rules sometimes don't make sense in specific situations and there are cases of corrupt building inspectors.

But Port-au-Prince's apparent devastation compared to San Francisco's relatively minor damage shows how science and government can set standards for construction, which, if enforced, save lives.  As individuals we are always tempted to cut corners when our dollars don't match our desires, but the law encourages us to use methods that were developed with potential disasters (fires, hurricanes, as well as earthquakes) in mind.  Again, I realize these rules are not perfect and as the science improves old methods get changed.  And humans who enforce the rules aren't necessarily consistent or honest.  But looking at the difference between the damage in Haiti in 2010 and in San Francisco shows the value good, well enforced, building codes make.   The low death toll in San Francisco is, in part, a result of one of the invisible roles government plays in our lives when it is working right. 



Here's a little more context for the Ricther Scale from the United States Geological Survey.

Richter Approximate Magnitude	Approximate TNT for Seismic Energy Yield	Joule equivalent	Example
0.0	1 kg (2.2 lb)	4.2 MJ
0.5	5.6 kg (12.4 lb)	23.5 MJ	Large hand grenade
1.0	32 kg (70 lb)	134.4 MJ	Construction site blast
1.5	178 kg (392 lb)	747.6 MJ	WWII conventional bombs
2.0	1 metric ton	4.2 GJ	Late WWII conventional bombs
2.5	5.6 metric tons	23.5 GJ	WWII blockbuster bomb
3.0	32 metric tons	134.4 GJ	Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb
3.5	178 metric tons	747.6 GJ	Chernobyl nuclear disaster, 1986
4.0	1 kiloton	4.2 TJ	Small atomic bomb
4.5	5.6 kilotons	23.5 TJ
5.0	32 kilotons	134.4 TJ	Nagasaki atomic bomb (actual seismic yield was negligible since it detonated in the atmosphere) Lincolnshire earthquake (UK), 2008
5.4	150 kilotons	625 TJ	2008 Chino Hills earthquake (Los Angeles, United States)
5.5	178 kilotons	747.6 TJ	Little Skull Mtn. earthquake (NV, USA), 1992 Alum Rock earthquake (CA, USA), 2007
6.0	1 megaton	4.2 PJ	Double Spring Flat earthquake (NV, USA), 1994
6.5	5.6 megatons	23.5 PJ	Rhodes (Greece), 2008
6.7	16.2 megatons	67.9 PJ	Northridge earthquake (CA, USA), 1994
6.9	26.8 megatons	112.2 PJ	San Francisco Bay Area earthquake (CA, USA), 1989
7.0	32 megatons	134.4 PJ	Java earthquake (Indonesia), 2009 12 January 2010 earthquake (Haiti)
7.1	50 megatons	210 PJ	Energy released is equivalent to that of Tsar Bomba, the largest thermonuclear weapon ever tested.
7.5	178 megatons	747.6 PJ	Kashmir earthquake (Pakistan), 2005 Antofagasta earthquake (Chile), 2007
7.8	600 megatons	2.4 EJ	Tangshan earthquake (China), 1976
8.0	1 gigaton	4.2 EJ	Toba eruption[citation needed] 75,000 years ago; the largest known volcanic event San Francisco earthquake (CA, USA), 1906 Queen Charlotte earthquake (BC, Canada), 1949 México City earthquake (Mexico), 1985 Gujarat earthquake (India), 2001 Chincha Alta earthquake (Peru), 2007 Sichuan earthquake (China), 2008 (initial estimate: 7.8)
8.5	5.6 gigatons	23.5 EJ	Sumatra earthquake (Indonesia), 2007
9.0	32 gigatons	134.4 EJ	Lisbon Earthquake (Lisbon, Portugal), All Saints Day, 1755
9.1	67 gigatons	477 EJ	Indian Ocean earthquake, 2004 (40 ZJ in this case)
9.2	90.7 gigatons	379.7 EJ	Anchorage earthquake (AK, USA), 1964
9.5	178 gigatons	747.6 EJ	Valdivia earthquake (Chile), 1960 (251 ZJ in this case)
10.0	1 teraton	4.2 ZJ	Never recorded by humans.
13.0	108 megatons = 100 teratons	5x1030 ergs = 500 ZJ	Yucatán Peninsula impact (causing Chicxulub crater) 65 Ma ago.[8][9][10][11][12]