Making civilization resilient

Disaster science is like earthquake science: progress is opportunistic, prodded by large events. The planning after the Sumatra quake and tsunami is ready to jolt into motion. Ready on the shelf is the best advice of the hazards community, which urges us to adopt "sustainable hazard mitigation." A galvanizing New Year's column by three Columbia University specialists points the same way, urging us to wage a "preemptive war against environmental stress and disaster vulnerability."

With world opinion focused on the problem, science stands ready to inform the political response. Please support policies that do the right thing.