Why Geology Matters: Decoding the Past, Anticipating the Future
University of California Press, 2011 304 pp., $55.00 Science in
Focus: Heather M. Whitney Why Geology Matters, Part 3 The ground
beneath our feet can often seem to be the one constant in the
human experience. We even use the term "grounded" to describe
people who seem to be particularly stable. Yet, the Earth is in
fact always changing as the result of a number of processes and
influences. Geologists seek to study the Earth and its
influencing factors to understand what brought it to be what it
is at this time and predict what it will be in the future, work
that holds immense importance for our ability to be good
stewards of the planet and all its resources. Doug MacDougall,
in Why Geology Matters: Decoding the Past, Anticipating the
Future, argues that some background in the geosciences is
important for all of us. In doing so, he illustrates that the
study of geology is made up of many supporting players and
employs techniques of analysis from s