This blog is written by Natasha Dowey, previously a Lecturer of Geology at the University of Hull and now Associate Professor in Sustainable Geoscience at Sheffield Hallam University. Natasha specialises in natural hazards and risk, and is a fan of beaches, Cornish pasties and dancing in the kitchen with her kids.
Geoscience, the study of the Earth, is my favourite thing. For many years it has been my passion, my career, and a large part of my day-to-day life. But I’m getting worried about the topic I love. Public opinion is at an all-time low, and there has been a drop in students choosing to take Geology at A-Level in recent years.
Geoscience is a subject that could, and should, be hugely popular. A growing number of young people care deeply about our planet and want to be part of solutions that lead to change. They want to tackle the climate crisis head on and make the world a more sustainable place. Geoscience can be used as a tool for good in this fight. So why is public opinion so poor?
There is no doubt that geoscience faces big challenges. The subject still, even now in 2019, lacks diversity. Female voices are rarely heard and geoscience has the lowest racial and ethnic diversity of all science and engineering topics at university. There is a chicken and egg problem of needing more diverse role models to attract a more diverse range of students.
However, the landscape is slowly changing. Social media has increased the visibility of scientists more than ever before. I’m a mum from a working class background, and I can finally see people like myself in senior jobs in geoscience, which gives me hope.
Geoscience’s biggest problem is its image crisis. When people hear ‘geology’, they think oil and gas, mining and quarrying. The link between the use of fossil fuels and the climate crisis is now widely accepted. It is understandable that the public may be wary of geoscience as a result of this long-standing connection.
It is true that these industries have created, and continue to create, jobs for geologists around the world. I used to work in oil and gas; I was glad of the job, worked with good people and learnt a lot. But part of the reason I left to be a lecturer was to reach out and tell as many people as possible that geology is more than just fossil fuels!
I said above that geoscience is the study of the Earth; the simplest description of the topic. But what does that mean? Geoscience is a big subject that brings together all aspects of science under one big umbrella- physics, chemistry, biology, maths- to allow us to study the incredible changes our planet has been through over millions and billions of years.
Geoscientists are finding and mining minerals that will allow us to build batteries to store renewable energy. They are looking deep into the history of the planet to find out how past climate change has impacted the Earth, to predict what may happen in the future. They are scrambling across volcanoes, unpicking their secrets to better understand the hazard they pose to a growing population. They are using knowledge of the ground beneath our feet to plan how to lock away carbon dioxide for millions of years. They are comparing Earth to other planets like Mars, to find out how similar we are.
In doing all these amazing things, geoscientists are tackling major issues facing our planet, and working towards a more sustainable future. But we very rarely hear about them.
Geoscientists must work together to change the story. We need to reframe how we see our topic, how we talk about it and how we promote it to students and the general public. We must work together and play our part in promoting our subject as a tool for good.
There is no doubt that the climate crisis is happening. As a community, geoscientists must move forward from defending the past, to instead focus on making geoscience a diverse, modern part of a sustainable future – and encouraging the next generation to get involved.
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Thanks for this. I have been a geologist in the oil and gas industry for 40 years, and share your passion for the science. I think that instead of trying to apologize for the association of geoscience and the energy industry we should celebrate it. The natural gas revolution has done more to reduce carbon emissions than anything else, by a long shot. We have at least another century before we fully transition away from hydrocarbon energy, and we should embrace that reality.
In Louisiana industry geoscientists have been working with geology departments at local universities to help provide access to seismic data to study the neo-tectonic framework of the coastal plain. Direct donations and internships have provided access to over $300 million in data. The resulting research is having direct application to the ability to measure and map relative sea level rise in the coastal zone. This type of cooperative engagement is the best path forward to long-term sustainability of the coast. We should encourage new students to seek out this type of engagement.
Hi Chris,
Thanks so much for reading the blog, and for your comments. For sure, there are petroleum geoscientists out there funding and participating in some really interesting research. This website isn’t here to criticise the oil and gas industry- after all, the scientists who work in oil and gas today may soon be the people who work in carbon capture and storage. However, there is a need for a platform to promote all the brilliant, sustainable and modern geoscience activities outside of traditional fossil fuels, with the aim of showing young people the broad career choices available to them if they take up the study of geology. I would really recommend you check out this article, it’s another piece on a similar theme that puts it well: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/earth-sciences-face-crisis-sustainability Cheers, Natasha