Social geology — integrating sustainability concepts into Earth sciences

Most geologists would argue that geoscientific knowledge, experience, and guidance is critical for addressing many of society’s most acute environmental challenges, yet few geologists are directly engaged in current discourses around sustainable development. That is surprising given that several att...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the Geologists' Association 2017-04, Vol.128 (2), p.165-172
Main Authors: Stewart, Iain S., Gill, Joel C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Earth science
Geology
Geoscience
Society
Sustainability
Sustainable development
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Summary:Most geologists would argue that geoscientific knowledge, experience, and guidance is critical for addressing many of society’s most acute environmental challenges, yet few geologists are directly engaged in current discourses around sustainable development. That is surprising given that several attributes make modern geoscience well placed to make critical contributions to contemporary sustainability thinking. Here, we argue that if geoscientists are to make our know-how relevant to sustainability science, two aspects seem clear. Firstly, the geoscience community needs to substantially broaden its constituency, not only forging interdisciplinary links with other environmental disciplines but also drawing from the human and behavioral sciences. Secondly, the principles and practices of ‘sustainability’ need to be explicitly integrated into geoscience education, training and continued professional development.
ISSN:0016-7878
DOI:10.1016/j.pgeola.2017.01.002