Dialogues with the Earth Sciences: Cross-Disciplinary Musings on a Planet in Transition

This book explores how Earth Sciences including Geosciences can be reimagined to serve people in a world increasingly shaped by planetary-scale anthropogenic change (PSAC), commonly referred to as the ’Anthropocene’. The authors investigate traditional societal aspects of Earth Sciences, offering insights into how to recognize the mechanisms and emerging phase shifts that shape our planet’s dynamics. The chapters explore how literacy in Earth Sciences may shape civic identity, behavioural norms, and societal practices, particularly in contexts of cultural transformation, education, and socio-ecological adaptation. The authors further illuminate the nexus of globalization, dominant cultures, and planetary processes contributing to the contemporary human condition.

Finally, this book highlights disciplinary and sociocultural boundaries that can impede efforts to address planetary-scale anthropogenic change. It suggests avenues for cultivating pathways toward a more cohesive and responsible approach to caretaking of the planetary habitat.

Cornelia E Nauen heads the international non-profit association Mundus maris - Sciences and Arts for Sustainability and chairs the Board of Trustees of Quantitative Aquatics hosting global biodiversity information systems. She was a tenured official in the European Commission DG RTD.

Martin Bohle is a retired EU official, an academic scholar initially researching dynamics of lakes and seas. He worked as manager at the Directorate General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) of the European Commission. Since a decade he is publishing regularly on the relationships between science and society, as perceived from an Earth Sciences baseline.