Geology makes a difference to Society

The Geological Society of London have just today released a great report highlighting how geology contributes to our society.

All too often the impression is that all geologists do is study rocks. Whilst in essence, this is what we do, the implications of geological research are far reaching and not always understood by the wider public. I think this report is a fantastic piece of science communication (yes, I’m off again!) but more importantly, a great tool for all to appreciate just how important to our every day lives the study of Earth Sciences actually is.

In total, the report covers 12 areas  in which our understanding of geology shapes our daily lives. A maximum of 2 pages are dedicated to each topic, which makes for very clear, quick and easy reading. Topics covered include: Geoengineering, Energy, Geohazards, Climate Change and some unexpected ones: The Anthropocene and Valuing and protecting our environment. Of course, I have a favourite and you won’t be surprised, I’m sure, that it is the pages on Communicating geology: time, uncertainty and risk.

The Societies pages on how geology impacts on society can be found here and can be downloaded as a PDF too.

Credit: Wikimedia Commons,
Author: Alpsdake

Credit: Wikimedia Commons. Author: R. Clucas. This image is in the public domain because it contains materials that originally came from the United States Geological Survey, an agency of the United States Department of the Interior.

Credit: Wikimedia Commons. Author: de:Benutzer:Alex Anlicker