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NARROW
GeoRef Subject
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all geography including DSDP/ODP Sites and Legs
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North America
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United States
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Mississippi Delta (1)
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geologic age
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Cenozoic
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Quaternary
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Quaternary
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North America
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stratigraphy (1)
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United States
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Mississippi Delta (1)
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The geosciences, climate change, and the virtues of ignorance
Using current debates surrounding climate change as an example, this essay offers a postdisciplinary framing of the policy uses of scientific knowledge. Rather than seeing empirical knowledge as driving societal consensus, the causal arrow between science and social values should be understood as flowing in both directions. In the case of climate change, 20 years of climate science has led to few changes in public policy; but we can expect that the dire consequences of climate change, if and when they occur, will cause a rapid shift from impotent squabbling to public and political pressure to geoengineer the climate. I explore the implications of this view, and argue that geologists and society at large should learn how to make effective use of geological ignorance as well as geological knowledge.
The discovery of geologic time revolutionized scientific thinking and led to the development of the modern Earth sciences. Less appreciated, however, is the fact that geologic time has had far-reaching cultural and societal consequences that go well beyond its founding influence upon the geosciences. This essay summarizes the literature describing the difficulties students encounter in understanding deep time, provides an overview of the historical development and cultural relevance of deep time, and suggests ways to increase students' understanding of the significance of geologic time.