Why Geology Matters: Decoding the Past, Anticipating the Future

What’s the risk of an asteroid colliding with Earth? Why does the ocean’s temperature millions of years ago matter today? In an engaging and accessible presentation, Doug McDougall gives an overview of the astonishing history of Earth based on information extracted from natural archives. We discover that Earth science actually sheds light on many of today’s most pressing issues—energy availability, access to freshwater, agriculture. Even more, McDougall clearly shows that science also provides important keys to the future of the planet. Doug McDougall is a writer, a geologist-scientist, and a teacher. He is an honorary professor at the Institute of Oceanography at the University of California, where for many years he taught and conducted research in geochemistry. An avid traveler, his research has taken him around the world—from Siberia and the Canadian Arctic to southern India, China, and the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.