Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
and waste disposal areas for an expanding human
colony. Some areas are not only short of suitable
materials and sites, they are also hazardous to humans
and their structures. To avoid loss of resources, geo-
scientists and most citizens support the concept of
regional planning. Such planning requires basic
data, acquired by geologic and soil mapping. Essen-
tially we need to determine where in a region we can
accommodate people and how many. The guiding
concepts are to design with nature in mind in order
to avoid loss of life and waste of resources, including
those infrastructure resources lost in disasters.
surprises that decrease it. We know that oil production
is nearing its peak and "natural" biologic hazards are
increasing. We have models of societal failure (e.g.,
Easter Island); satellite views of current conditions on
the land and in the sea; historical perspectives of
change in the natural system from marine/lake sedi-
ments, ice cores, and human records; and immediate
communication (e-mail, phone, TV) between humans
(private, governmental, and nongovernmental orga-
nizations [NGOs]) about natural and societal change
anywhere in the world. We have many tools to assist
us in our quest for sustainability. In the end, the laws
of nature may well govern sustainability, as individu-
als and societies in the human colony work to miti-
gate harmful natural and human-induced changes at
the same time that they seek to adapt to those
changes. The sooner we understand the options fac-
ing Spaceship Earth, the better the chance for a sus-
tainable outcome.
In Section IV the two exercises, Geology and
Regional Planning (17) and Global Change and Sus-
tainability (18), address sustainability on both local
and global levels. Exercise 17 begins with the environ-
mental factors in solid waste disposal, followed by
application of geologic data to selection of land uses in
Waco, Texas. In Exercise 18, real-time ozone, tempera-
ture, and glacier retreat data are presented to demon-
strate change and the human component of some of
that change. In this exercise we also examine the ice-
core record of longer-term temperature change and the
projections for future climate changes. The last activity
is an exploration of possible futures, using group dis-
cussion, projection of trends, and construction of a
brief scenario.
In preparation for the scenario activity and
improved understanding of the sustainability issue,
the last part of this Introduction examines the finite
nature of some key geologic resources.
LONG-RANGE PLANNING
For sustainability, we must take the long-term view of
the Earth system, which is not difficult for geologists
who think well beyond the next election or budget
cycle. Long-range planning begins with determining
how to accommodate the human resources (number of
humans) with the known and expected natural
resources (our geological and biological support sys-
tem, which includes biodiversity and energy factors).
As the Earth is finite, there is a limit to the number of
people it can support. Approximating this limit has
been attempted in various ways: water and land per
person, food calories per person, and renewable
energy per person, etc. In long-range planning for sus-
tainability we move from the regional to the global
system.
Also in this carrying-capacity approach to plan-
ning for human impact on Earth, we must consider the
quality of life we can have or will accept, and the
changes brought about in the system by humans.
Humans are now geologic agents; we capture about
40% of the biosphere and move more material on the
lithosphere than the natural geomorphic systems of
wind, water, and ice. We are changing the chemistry
and temperature of the atmosphere. With climate
change, geomorphic processes, and therefore, land-
scapes change. We are part of and a factor in our
changing Earth system—our life support system.
How do we achieve sustainability? How do we
balance natural resource availability (assisted by our
ingenuity) and human resource use (number of
humans
X
average consumption) in this changing
system, which has unknown or poorly defined lim-
its? Many scientists understand that without long-
range planning we have actually planned to discover
the limits for the human colony by overshoot and
collapse.
Are humans capable, intellectually and socially,
of a humane approach to long-range sustainability? If
we accept this objective as a component of sustainabil-
ity, we should determine the global resources available
to us and adjust to them. There will be technological
advances that increase our sustainability; there will be
GEOLOGIC RESOURCES
A
resource
is something that has economic value. Nat-
ural resources such as oil, iron ore, fish, or trees are
often defined by the monetary value placed on them.
Unfortunately, this definition leaves out some natural
resources such as scenic views, favorable topography
for exploiting solar and wind energy, and even some
gravel deposits and favorable building sites. A simple
working definition for a
natural resource
is a "useful
material or environment"; a broader definition is
"biological or physical phenomenon that exists in
nature and can be adapted for use by humans."
Geologic resources
are those natural geological phenom-
ena that can be adapted for human benefit. Natural
resources and geological resources may be described
as renewable or nonrenewable and exhaustible or
inexhaustible.
