Nowadays I just assume these "nice to have" features exist in order to get users to enable location services so that they can be permanently tracked. Very cynical of me maybe. But there's never an option to "enable location sevices for this use only"-kind of setting. It's always the globally enabled one.

I agree and wish it would be a separate app you can install or not instead of part of the system.

For Android's Earthquake Alerts System to work, Google requires your phone to "always" send location.

If government requests access to this location data, Google is compelled to provide it. There is no conspiracy or anything cynical about it.

Cynical: People who makes decisions at Google push for features that trick people into enabling system-wide always-on location services that they otherwise wouldn't. For functionality that shouldn't actually require system-wide always-on location services. The primary goal being to sell more ads, not to help with earthquakes.

A conspiracy: Governments push or force or encourage Google to do it in order to have access to location data on citizens.