This book is a concise introduction to the interactions between earthquakes and human-built structures (buildings, dams, bridges, power plants, pipelines and more). It focuses on the ways in which these interactions illustrate the application of basic physics principles and concepts, including inertia, force, shear, energy, acceleration, elasticity, friction and stability. It illustrates how conceptual and quantitative physics emerges in the day-to-day work of engineers, drawing from examples from regions and events which have experienced very violent earthquakes with massive loss of life and property. The authors of this book, a physics educator, a math educator, and a geotechnical engineer have set off on what might be considered a mining expedition; searching for ways in which introductory physics topics and methods can be better connected with careers of interest to non-physics majors. They selected ""destructive earthquakes"" as a place to begin because they are interesting and because future engineers represent a significant portion of the non-physics majors in introductory physics courses. Avoiding the extremes of treating applied physics either as a purely hands-on, conceptual experience or as a lengthy capstone project for learners who have become masters; the application in this book can be scattered throughout a broader physics course or individual learning experience.

Four decades ago, the areas around Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks sheltered the last few hundred surviving grizzlies in the Lower 48 states. Protected by the Endangered Species Act, their population has surged to more than 1,500, and this burgeoning number of grizzlies now collides with the increasingly populated landscape of the twenty-first-century American West. While humans and bears have long shared space, today's grizzlies navigate a shrinking amount of wilderness: cars whiz like bullets through their habitats, tourists check Facebook to pinpoint locations for a quick selfie with a grizzly, and hunters seek trophy prey. People, too, must learn to live and work within a potential predator's territory they have chosen to call home. Mixing fast-paced storytelling with rich details about the hidden lives of grizzly bears, Montana journalist Robert Chaney chronicles the resurgence of this charismatic species against the backdrop of the country's long history with the bear. Chaney captures the clash between groups with radically different visions: ranchers frustrated at losing livestock, environmental advocates, hunters, and conservation and historic preservation officers of tribal nations. Underneath, he probes the balance between our demands on nature and our tolerance for risk.

This book is a concise introduction to the interactions between earthquakes and human-built structures (buildings, dams, bridges, power plants, pipelines and more). It focuses on the ways in which these interactions illustrate the application of basic physics principles and concepts, including inertia, force, shear, energy, acceleration, elasticity, friction and stability. It illustrates how conceptual and quantitative physics emerges in the day-to-day work of engineers, drawing from examples from regions and events which have experienced very violent earthquakes with massive loss of life and property. The authors of this book, a physics educator, a math educator, and a geotechnical engineer have set off on what might be considered a mining expedition; searching for ways in which introductory physics topics and methods can be better connected with careers of interest to non-physics majors. They selected ""destructive earthquakes"" as a place to begin because they are interesting and because future engineers represent a significant portion of the non-physics majors in introductory physics courses. Avoiding the extremes of treating applied physics either as a purely hands-on, conceptual experience or as a lengthy capstone project for learners who have become masters; the application in this book can be scattered throughout a broader physics course or individual learning experience.