Another fine aticle, editors, thanks, this one on the dangers to the entire Bay Area from the Hayward fault.   I have polled my students for many years how many of them have earthquake insurance on their homes.  Result: about 5 percent at max, overall.   While the commonly-available quake insurance policies do suffer from some limitations, they still would seem to provide considerable protection against "The Big One" -- which many geologists tell us WILL happen, it is only a question of when (not If).  One might think that buyers would all flock to insure their acquisitions in light of how expensive housing has gotten  -- but no, it is not that way. It is fascinating that so many poeple want to purchase properties here and then not insure them.  Along these same lines, many students over the years have asked for ways to avoid purchasing policies of title insurance, too (something any responsible person would never advise anyone doing, incidentally, as a good policy of title insurance can provide a gfeat deal of useful protection -- but there it is). For those interested, the United States Geological Survey in Menlo Park has a great deal of information about quakes and other local geological matters of interest.  I can remember preparing to teach in 1989 when a moderate quake hit, I say moderate because we didn't feel it.  The college president came by and advised she had to close campus so the buidings could be safely inspected.  When we got home, we heard about the bay bridge and eastbay freeway collapses, also the SF Marina apartment collapse and etc.  It was interesting to note how greatly concentrated the damage was on "fill dirt" areas, places where the underlying "ground" was susceptible to "liquification."  This included one prominent hotel on the Peninsula suffering considerable structural damage requiring its closure for repairs -- again,  in a fill dirt area.   In addition to this risk of quakes, there are other risks including land slides (most of the hills around the bay area).   People need to realize that the geology (and type of construction) at their property probably has more to do with any quake damage than its proximity to the fault lines themselves (many homes very close to the fault line showed zero damage in the '89 quake, whereas the aforementioned-damage sites were all miles and miles from the epicenter). Anyone interested in owning property in this region of the country should really consider learning first about all these things, and many more subjects about the principles of real estate and its ownership.  Just as so many folks don't want to put quake insurance on their homes, many people don't even learn anything about real estate before signing up for what is often their largest purchase in their lives.  Naturally, I'd recommend everyone learn the principles of real estate before "diving into" big deals involving, as they inevitably do, many complex factors.  Even if you employ a fine, experienced real estate agent (and few buyers do, actually), you'll stand to do even better if you learn something about the subject first.  We discuss quake zones and many other important principles of real estate in class (www.collegeofsanmateo.edu, Spring term starts 22 January, all are very welcome), or if you are far away check your local community college for its similar offerings.  I do realize this may be "pushing uphill" as so many people out there try to "fly blind" and not learn anything about the subject before they "dive into it," but it is such a tremendously fascinating subject to learn about -- and so potentially useful for so many people... now is the time to check into it and see if you'd like to become "one of the more knowledgeable people" instead of just another member of the herd out there. Oh yes, my insurance agent mentioned that about 1/4 of Peninsula automobiles (and 1/3 of SF cars) are uninsured, too.  I guess the insurance industry has a lot of ground to plow (opportunity to grow?).  CSM has a new insurance industry training program, too, check it out!   I recall also once attending (for whatever reason?) a driver training class -- and after the teacher got done explaining how dangerous it is to drive while under the influence (not my problem, thankfully, but anyways...) all the young men in the class went out to the parking lot and "got stoned' on various substances during the recess break.  A real lesson, that!  There are many drivers out there who are simply not in control of their vehicles, please take good care on the highways and give the other guy a little extra space... Happy New Year!      

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