Here is an article of mine that has been the hottest (most popular) on-line piece that I have ever written. (In all modesty, I am not sure why it has been so popular.) In this Part 1 Diary entry, entitled "INVITING A DISCUSSION OF OR SELF-REFLECTION AT OP-ED NEWS concering what it means to edit", I will note what the response was (by the editor) to the submission ( and sent out appx. 120 hours after being initially submitted).
I am not doing this out of sour grapes. I am doing this because a number of other OP-ED writings have voiced similar complaints to me in communiqes over the past year. In the past, I have not tried to raise the issue. (Heck, if not overwhelmed, I would even offer an hour or two now-and-then to help edit others work each week.)
Here is the article that had 5000 hits (glances) in three day period after being submitted elsewhere last Saturday.
CIRCUMNAVIGATING THE PACIFIC RING OF FIRE ?
Chile, then New Zealand, and now Japan: Earthquakes and the Ring of Fire
By Kevin Stoda
Many of you are aware that Japan has been the third country to be once again struck by a major earthquake since 2011 began. I wonder if this is the result of normal Ring of Fire activities in the Pacific or whether something more ominous is at work.
"The "Ring of Fire" is an arc stretching from New Zealand, along the eastern edge of Asia, north across the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, and south along the coast of North and South America. The Ring of Fire is composed over 75% of the world's active and dormant volcanoes. This huge ring of volcanic and seismic (earthquake) activity was noticed and described before the invention of the theory of plate tectonics theory [by those who sailed and traversed the Pacific for centuries.]. We now know that the Ring of Fire is located at the borders of the Pacific Plate and other major tectonic plates."
http://geography.about.com/cs/earthquakes/a/ringoffire.htm
The Ring of Fire in the Pacific is also "known as the circum-Pacific seismic belt,' it is found along the rim of the Pacific Ocean, where about 81 percent of the world's largest earthquakes occur."
"So many of the world's earthquakes originate in this belt since it's a region of young, growing mountains and deep ocean trenches, which invariably parallel mountain chains. Earthquakes tend to accompany elevation changes in mountains (the higher part of the earth's crust), and changes in the ocean trenches (the lower part)."
FROM CHILE TO NEW ZEALAND TO JAPAN IN 2011 ALREADY
One report, concerning Japan's earthquake this week, is as follows, "Even for a country used to earthquakes, this one was of horrific proportions because of the tsunami that crashed ashore, swallowing everything in its path as it surged several miles (kilometers) inland before retreating. The apocalyptic images on Japanese TV of powerful, debris-filled waves, uncontrolled fires and a ship caught in a massive whirlpool resembled scenes from a Hollywood disaster movie."
http://blog.al.com/wire/2011/03/japan_earthquake_tsunami_death.html
The initial major quake that hit the Sendai prefecture of Japan this week hit 8.9 on the Richter scale and is the worst to have hit Japan seen since 1800. There have been 150 aftershocks over the past 2 days--and tsunami warnings across the Pacific were made
Notably, across the Pacific in the very first days of this year 2011, Chile had already suffered another major earthquake.
http://vodpod.com/watch/5243460-breaking-news-major-earthquake-strikes-central-chile
Recall that just last year (2010), Chile had suffered from another one of the highest-recorded (Richter scale) earthquakes, which had measured an 8.8. That is nearly as strong as the Sendai Quake of this week. "Residents of central Chile were jolted out of bed at 3:34 am on February 27, 2010 by a severe earthquake measuring 8.8 on the Richter scale. Three hours later, a 6.2 aftershock struck Concepcion and less than two hours after that, another aftershock of 5.5 hit approximately 50 miles from Santiago. There" were immediately "at least 90 aftershocks ranging from 4.9 to 6.9 in magnitude."
http://www.suite101.com/content/another-massive-earthquake-in-latin-america-a207052
Eighty percent of the Chile's population felt that earthquake. A total of 370,000 homes were destroyed.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/4094979/Huge-earthquake-rocks-Christchurch
On February 21 of this year, on the southwestern shore of the Pacific Rim, New Zealand suffered another major quake near Christchurch. It was only a 6.3 on the Richter scale but it caused numerous casualties. The quake that struck New Zealand in February 2011 came only a half-year after another earlier NZ quake (at 7.0 on the Richter scale) had struck that same north island of the country--and also caused similar damage.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/4094979/Huge-earthquake-rocks-Christchurch
In short, in less than 11 weeks, the major earthquakes at the edge of the Rim of Fire in the Pacific have covered 3 continents--and have yet to move on to North America.
Any comments?
OP-ED EDITORS RESPONSE to "CIRCUMNAVIGATING THE PACIFIC RING OF FIRE ?"
http://eslkevin.wordpress.com/2011/03/12/will-the-ring-of-fire-earthquakes-in-2011-continue-on-to-north-america/
"We want to accept your article but it needs a bit more work, as described below."
" [D]o not make titles all caps"
This article was submitted with category Life_Arts_Science and tags Activity, America, Disaster, Earth, Earthquake, Fire, Hollywood, Images, Mountains, Other, Other, Past, Population, THEORY, Tsunami, Volcano, Wonder
