International Year of Plant Earth e-Newsletter


	November / December 2008
	Celebrating the International Year of Planet Earth Events & Activities

Sign-up to Stay Informed About IYPE! To stay informed of International Year of Planet Earth events in the U.S. and around the globe, you must sign up to receive these e-updates which will be sent every other month (6 times per year). Official IYPE Global Website: www.yearofplanetearth.com	Introducing the International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE) Following a global launch event at the United Nations office in Paris, February 2008, geoscientists around the world are joining together to celebrate the earth sciences during the International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE). This global initiative of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) aims to ensure wider use of the knowledge accumulated by the world's earth scientists. The goal of IYPE is to draw attention to the benefits of the earth sciences for society. Helping to build safer, healthier, and more prosperous societies around the globe is a major theme. Science and outreach activities in 74 participating countries will continue through December 2009. Goals of the International Year of Planet Earth: Reduce risks to society caused by natural and human-induced hazards Reduce health problems by improving the understanding of the medical aspects of earth science Discover new natural resources and make available in a sustainable manner Build safer structures and expand urban areas utilizing natural subsurface conditions Determine the non-human factors in climatic change Enhance the understanding of occurrences of natural resources in order to contribute to efforts to reduce political tension Detect deep and poorly accessible groundwater resources Improve the understanding of the evolution of life Increase interest in the earth sciences in society at large Encourage more young people to study the earth sciences at universities

Houston, Texas IYPE U.S. Launch Event U.S. IYPE Sponsors: Baird Petro New Dominion, LLC Geological Society of America U.S. Geological Survey	IYPE in the United States The official U.S. launch of IYPE took place at the joint meeting of six major geoscience organizations, including GSA, in Houston, Texas, 5-9 October 2008. The U.S. National Committee for International Year of Planet Earth is working to raise awareness of IYPE in the United States. The committee is comprised of representatives of 16 U.S.-based geoscience organizations. A flagship project of the U.S National Committee is an IYPE Lecture Series. Through partnerships with museums, universities, and other science organizations, geoscience lectures and public talks are being held nationwide through December 2009. View the current list and submit a lecture. U.S. National Committee Participating Organizations: American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) Association of American State Geologists (AASG) Association of Earth Science Editors (AESE) American Geological Institute (AGI) American Geophysical Union (AGU) American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG) Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists (AEG) The Geological Society of America (GSA) International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) National Ground Water Association (NGWA) North American Committee for Stratigraphic Nomenclature (NACSN) Northeastern Science Foundation (NESF) Society of Sedimentary Geology (SEPM) Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) United States Geological Survey (USGS) Bruce Museum of Arts and Science

	Celebrating IYPE Around the Globe O Canada! The Canadian National Committee for IYPE has established an outreach campaign called "WHERE on Earth, WHERE in Canada," WHERE stands for Water, Hazards, Energy, Resources, Environment. Take the WHERE Challenge and find out more on what's happening in Canada to celebrate IYPE. Canadian geoscientists also plan to produce a popular book on the geology of Canada, Four Billion Years and Counting: Canada's Geological Heritage. This project will be one of Canada’s principal contributions to the International Year of Planet Earth and will be published by the Canadian Federation of Earth Sciences. OneGeology: Creating a Global Geology Map OneGeology is an international initiative to produce a dynamic Web-based geological map of the world. This global flagship project to celebrate IYPE currently involves geological surveys and science organizations from 34 countries.

Stay informed of U.S. events at: www.geosociety.org/IYPE/	IYPE Happenings and Events Planet Earth and Society Conference 20-23 November, San Juan, Puerto Rico NGWA Ground Water Expo and Annual Meeting 2008, 2-5 December 2008, Las Vegas, Nevada Joint Conference Australia & New Zealand Societies of Soil Science Soil: the Living Skin of Planet Earth 1-5 December 2008, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand Associate YOUR EVENT with the International Year of Planet Earth! Contact Wesley Hill, at the Geological Society of America (GSA) for information.


© 2008, The Geological Society of America, 3300 Penrose Place, Boulder, CO 80301 USA. All rights reserved.
To subscribe to the IYPE e-newsletter, visit www.geosociety.org/IYPE/newsletter/Subscribe.htm. You will be asked to confirm your e-mail address to validate your subscription. If you wish to contact us, please e-mail .