… if my writing is easy enough to understand. My intention is not to reach out to geologists or geology students, but to reach a wider audience with little or no geological knowledge. Although I try to keep my texts simple, I realize that I sometimes drift away and my writing becomes complicated for someone who is not a geological expert.
It is not easy to simplify things. Leaving out too much means that one cannot present the whole picture or important details and this in turn can lead to misunderstandings and misinterpretations, and also to speculations.
Geology is not a very complicated subject, but it has its own language and scales. What is special about geology however is that one needs to think in both time and space.
It really is a pity that geology is not taught in schools in Sweden. Everyone can get a basic understanding of mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology in school, but geology remains an almost completely unknown subject. Of course some teachers may mention rocks, sediments, soils, volcanoes, dinosaurs, continental drift, earthquakes and mountain building as part of a physics, biology or chemistry class, or as part of a natural science class. But by doing so, geology is not perceived as a subject on its own and the importance of geology for society is largely downplayed.
Yet, geology impacts us in so many ways and surrounds our daily life. Bedrock and sediment composition determine the type of vegetation; construction work (tunnels, buildings, roads) needs to know the properties of bedrock and sediments; we use rocks and sediments for building material; we use minerals and metals for almost everything, such as for example in cars, phones, computers, kitchen ware, energy (oil, coal, peat, nuclear energy, geothermal, and so on), weapons, chemical industry, jewelry, … this list could be made really long! Even salt, which you probably use daily is a geological resource!
A few years ago I gave a lecture about Earth’s resources and tried to make students understand how much geology really surrounds us. When I compiled the lecture, it struck me how many of the simple things we use every day are of geological origin. I thought I could share parts of this (by now old) lecture with you so that you can get an idea about geology’s impact on our daily lives.
Because geology is so important, and because geology has so many consequences when it comes to our daily life, it is really surprising that we know so little about it and that kids are not educated in geology in school. A consequence of this is that geology is not a familiar subject when students apply to university. And therefore not many students study geology, although the job market for geologists is really good.
Geological knowledge is not only needed in consulting companies and the industry, but is really much needed ‘on the other side’ to assist municipalities and other stake holders so that they are able to address and scrutinize geological issues.
With the awakened interest in mining and the call for new raw materials to satisfy the transition to a ‘green’ technology, geological knowledge and understanding is more important than ever – for everyone.
Barbara Wohlfarth 