Introduction

Geology is the branch of science that studies Earth materials and processes. This course focuses specifically on the interactions between humans and the Earth’s geologic materials and processes, which is a discipline of geology called environmental geology. In environmental geology, we apply our geologic knowledge to identify, remediate, and try to prevent environmental problems.

Because we as humans interact with the Earth every day, environmental geology is an important science. Decisions made about the environment impact every person living on Earth, and thus we must approach these decisions with a sound understanding of the Earth and its processes. Overarching themes we will explore in this class include: