Dr. Marcia Bjornerud is a professor of geology and environmental studies at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. Last year, she published a book with Princeton University Press called Timefulness: How Thinking Like a Geologist Can Help Save the World.

I enjoyed reading about her work as a professor and former student to show how understanding the Earth’s past, present, and future provides clarity to dispel ignorance and promote cautious optimism. She describes how we have confirmed the age of the Earth and how dates changed over time along with scientific measurements such as isotopic dating.

Disagreements between Darwin and Kelvin over time proposed for evolution are fascinating and tragic. Kevin’s calculated age of Earth of 20 million years disagreed with Darwin’s ideas that evolution would take 100’s of millions to billions of years but were not proven until after Darwin’s death. She describes teaching a class, “History of Earth and Life, with the goal of telling the 4.5 billion-year story of the planet in one academic term (at a clip of 400 million years a week).”

She also provides a warning based on abundant scientific evidence, “If human carbon emissions have not been sharply curbed, and powerful positive feedbacks in the climate system are activated, the Earth could experience a replay of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (which occurred about 55 million years ago). Sea level would rise tens of feet, inundating many of the world’s most populous cities.” There can be no doubt that we humans are adding carbon to the atmosphere at very alarming rates and geologic evidence tells us what can happen as well as propose sensible solutions.

Her sources state humans are emitting 10 gigatons of carbon per year, mostly from burning fossil fuels but also cement production which roasts limestone and deforestation. Various ways to remove carbon dioxide are discussed including mineral reactions to produce carbonates:

Mg2SiO4 + 2CO2 = 2MgCO3 + SiO2 (Olivine plus carbon dioxide gives magnesite plus quartz)

Olivine is found in upper mantle rocks exposed near Newfoundland, Oman, Cyprus, and Northern California. The idea would be to mine and spread out the olivine to allow carbon sequestration. One study in Oman indicated that about 1 gigaton of carbon per year could be removed from the atmosphere.

I also like her suggestion that the President could create a Department of the Future with a cabinet Secretary that would consider current decisions under the lens of potential future impacts, such as Native Americans advocating Seven Generations.