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Geology—Past & Future

REVISITED

Editor’s note: The following is the tenth installment of our encore presentation of articles that highlighted the 10th anniversary
of the first issue of Geology, as published in Geology in Dec. 1983 [v. 11, no. 12, p. 679–691,

doi: 10.1130/0091-7613(1983)11<679:GAF>2.0.CO;2]. Each section was written by a different author (author affiliation notations
are as originally published in 1983). See the August 2013 GSA Today (v. 23, no. 8, p. 18–19, ftp://rock.geosociety.org/pub/GSAToday/

gt1308.pdf) for the first installment and table of contents. In this issue: article 20: “Environmental geology,” by John W. Rold;
and article 21: “Science publishing,” by Henry Spall.

GSA TODAY | JUNE 2015 Environmental Geology A cursory review of the 1973 literature indicates major concerns
for integrating geologic information into the decision-making
John W. Rold, Colorado Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado 80203 process, solving energy and mineral shortages, mitigating hazards,
achieving mined-land reclamation, handling solid waste, and
In 1973 environmental geology provided an exciting frontier for preventing water pollution. Deriving, compiling, interpreting, and
geologists. Although many still argued whether the term defined a distributing adequate geologic information for this burgeoning
new specialty in the science or simply the practical application of application of the science perplexed many in the profession.
geology to the normal activities of humans, Peter Flawn’s book by Complying with the letter and the spirit of the National
that title was being used as a text for adult education and courses Environmental Protection Act and the rapidly multiplying other
for both majors and nonmajors, ranging from freshman level to federal, state, and local environmental laws and regulations required
graduate seminars. Land-use-control laws with geologic emphasis the attention of geologists in industry and government alike.
and legal definitions of geologic hazards were being debated and
passed in many states. A federal land-use control law was being By 1983 each problem has been addressed but none totally
discussed. Interdisciplinary planning was the fad. Ian McHarg’s solved. Federal, state, and local laws now provide a pattern for
book Design with Nature inculcated planners, architects, and deci- industry, government, and the public to address the problems.
sion makers with the realization that geology could play an The frontier feeling of the 70s has been replaced with an institu-
important role in planning and development. Professional soci- tionalization, accommodation, and consolidation of conflicts.
eties such as AIPG and AEG were attempting to ensure that geolo- Public interest confrontations and the involved geologists
gists played their proper role in the interdisciplinary commonly move from the hearing room to the court room.
environmental crusade. Practical advances in geomorphology and
geotechnology were providing the scientific basis for a shift in Now the world faces recession. High interest rates, mineral
geologic-hazard philosophy from “acts of God” to that of predict- oversupply, shrinking governmental agency budgets, and high
able occurrences of ongoing geologic processes. State surveys and unemployment in geology (as well as other sectors) provide
the USGS were educating planners, legislators, and decision different restrictive parameters for facing the new challenges in
makers to the need for and use of geologic information and then applying our science toward solving our problems. In the 1980s
striving to satisfy that demand with data that could and would be geologists face the challenges of working within the institutional-
properly used by nongeologists. ized framework to solve the old problems and devise new or better
ways of using geology in everyday planning and decision making,
Gas-station lines and mineral shortages generated intense as well as addressing the arising awareness of toxic wastes, acid
exploration and massive development schemes. Determining the rain, hazard mitigation, shrinking ground-water supplies,
interaction between geologic factors, development activities, and increased water degradation, and the disposal of high-level radio-
the biosphere sparked a surge of environmental-geology employ- active waste. The wellbeing of the profession and humankind
ment in governmental agencies, companies, and consulting firms. itself may depend on geologists’ skills in addressing these serious
world-wide problems.

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learn more at www.geosociety.org/gsatoday/.

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