Volcano Blog by Tom Pering
  • Blog
  • About the Blog
  • About Me
  • Publications
  • Slug Calculator
  • Codes
    • Corrplot
    • Image Acquisition and Signal Processing
    • Image Processing
    • Other Matlab Codes
  • Photos
    • Etna 2011
    • Etna 2012
    • Etna 2013
    • Glencoe
    • Iceland 2011
    • Rainier
    • Sakurajima 2013
    • Stromboli 2013
    • Vulcano 2014
    • Yellowstone 2013
  • Videos
    • Dynamics of mild strombolian activity on Mt Etna Elsevier AudioSlides presentation
    • High time resolution fluctuations in volcanic carbon dioxide degassing from Mount Etna AudioSlides Presentation

The L'Aquila trial: my two cents worth

3/11/2012

 
There has been a lot banded round in the press recently about the L'Aquila trial and the manslaughter charges of 6 years which have been passed on to the scientists involved:

Franco Barberi
Enzo Boschi
Giulio Selvaggi
Gian Michele Calvi
Claudio Eva
Mauro Dolce
Bernado De Bernardinis

I am not going to go into the in's and out's of the trials, good summaries can be had on the BBC website and from other sources. I am not a lawyer or judge, but a scientist, therefore my knowledge of the law and how it works is very sketchy.  

I want to say a couple of things about the possible global implications of this decision. Lets take a hypothetical example from the UK, perhaps the Environmental Agency 'falsely reassures' a neighbourhood about the risk of a flood and the flood actually ends up occurring or a tv meteorologist plays down the effects of a blizzard. From the events in Italy, someone could now say, well, they were prosecuted and imprisoned in Italy, why not here?

Will this mean in the future, any event such as this will be met with a more severe warning? What if nothing happens? What if there are several warnings and nothing happens? People will start to get complacent and the job of scientists will get more difficult. 

Science is based upon the interpretation of data or information that they believe to be correct and on theories that are currently believed to be the best available. Scientists on the whole, will act to the best of their ability to try and prevent any harm coming to a population. Lets take another example: Mt. Vesuvius, a dormant volcano with the large population of Naples nearby. Volcanologists think that it may erupt so they issue advice to the authorities to evacuate. The evacuation turns out to be unnecessary, can the authorities prosecute volcanologists for damages or even imprison due to inaccurate information?

As you can see, this trial throws up several scientific dilemmas, which need to be addressed or we will see more controversial decisions such as this. Could this lead to less talented scientists in important decision making roles, or a reluctance to make a decision in fear of imprisonment?

To finish if any appeal is thrown out (or even if they are freed) the results of this trial will surely be felt globally throughout the scientific community and threatens the progress of science, particularly with respects to hazard prediction. 

I would like to finish with this message; free the seven, liberen a los siete, rilasciare il sette. 

If you feel strongly that the seven should not be charged with manslaughter please sign this petition.
Alex
3/11/2012 09:05:38 am

Tom, I am afraid you miss many parts of the story. It's not about "the interpretation of data or information that they believe to be correct and on theories that are currently believed to be the best available" but to second political goals putting your science in the pocket (with some fresh money). Who you name scientists accepted to meet just to give a scientific appearance to a pre-written communication set by politics for political reasons. They not even discussed the situation in the few minutes of the "meeting" and to not lose their prestigious positions in several institutions they did what scientist should never do: "Go home safe, nothing will happen". This time their superficiality costed too much, and the result of the trial will remind them in the future what they are supposed to be: scientists and not just the voice of the current power. Be sure that italian next levels of judgements will reduce their pain to just a little more than a slap in the face. There are many form of corruption and the written pages and recorded phone calls in this trial can explain very well the difference between science and what those people are, if only we spend enough time to read and hear it all.

Alex

Tom
6/11/2012 03:36:01 am

Alex,

Thanks for your interesting comment, it is clear that I don't have an entire grasp of the situation. I was trying to look at the situation from a purely scientific stand-point as that (I believe) will be the major point taken from the trial.

Tom

Kelly
6/11/2012 02:16:13 pm

Yes, the scientists were in the wrong to portray a 'go home safe, nothing will happen' message and maybe they are part of currupt living, but surely to charge them for manslaughter is a harsh penalty when those deaths were caused by a natural phenomenon. I wonder how many deaths were caused by short-comings in the areas building regulations and mitigation measures for such events? Are those people responsible for constructing buildings without proper earthquake proofing also liable to manslaughter charges? What if the trialled scientists did say 'there may be the chance of an event, but there's no way to predict when and where exactly'... what could the public have done and what difference would there have been when it actually happened.. would it have saved any of the people from getting killed? I doubt it. I also, don't know the complete story, but agree with Tom and many others' opinion that this is an overreaction.

Alex
6/11/2012 03:00:53 pm

@kelly to say that other also are guilty for what happened is correct and true but usually does not count on the single person responsibility in front of the law. I could find this petition an overreaction too and, i imagine, dictated by the fact to be part of the science community. Once that finally the italian justice put some bureaucrats (not scientists anymore) in front of their responsibility, moral and professional, we push to go back to the status quo of the "untouchables" or of "all guilty, nobody is guilty". I would agree with you and the petition in the general concept but not in this case, for those particular persons and in that moment of italian history.


Comments are closed.

    RSS Feed

    Volcano Blog Logo
    Picture
    Eruptions Blog
    Picture
    Magma Cum Laude
    Donate to the IVM-Fund! Click on the picture to go to the website!
    Share this page

    Archives

    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011

    Author

    I am currently studying volcanology in the UK and want to share this interest with others. 

    Categories

    All
    Adams
    Arthurs Seat
    Australia
    Avachinsky-Koryaksky
    Basalt
    Bbc
    Blog Update
    Cascades
    Castle Rock
    Chile
    Colima
    Column
    Costa Rica
    Decade Volcano
    Decade Volcanoes
    Dolerite
    Dubbi
    Edinburgh
    El Chichón
    El Hierro
    Eritrea
    Etna
    Eyjafjallajökull
    Fumarole
    Further Study
    Galeras
    General
    Geoinformatics
    Glencoe
    Grimsvotn
    Harmonic Tremor
    Hawaii
    Haystacks
    Hidden Journeys
    Hotspot
    Iceland
    Ignimbrite
    Importance Of Gas
    Indonesia
    Information
    Insar
    Jokulhlaup
    Kagoshima
    Katla
    Kilauea
    Lake District
    Langdale
    Lava Flows
    Lava Fountain
    Lava Lake
    Lava Stalactites
    Lava Tube
    Lightning
    Maar
    Mantle
    Mauna Loa
    Media
    Merapi
    Mercury
    Mexico
    Modelling
    Mount Hood
    Myrdalsjokull
    Mythology
    Nabro
    Nyamuragira
    Nyiragongo
    Passive Degassing
    Planetary Volcanism
    Plume
    Popocatepetl
    Popocatépetl
    Puyehue Cordon
    Puyehue-Cordon
    Puyehue-Cordon Caulle
    Puyehue-Cordón Caulle
    Pyroclastic Deposits
    Rainier
    Rift Valley
    Ruapehu
    Sakurajima
    Santa Maria
    Santiaguito
    Skaftafell
    St Helens
    Strokkur
    Stromboli
    Strombolian
    Summary
    Super Eruption
    Svartifoss
    Tag Cloud
    Teaching
    Terminology
    Thrihnukagigur
    Tuff Ring
    Turrialba
    Uk
    United Kindom
    Vei 8
    Vidgelmir
    Volatiles
    Volcanology
    Volcano Puzzle
    Vulcanian
    Xenolith
    Xenoliths
    Yellowstone

An informative blog for anyone interested about all things volcano related!