This edition includes discussion questions for reading groups. Bjornerud suggests that our species tends to have a temporal illiteracy. They discuss why the title of her new book is a play on mindfulness, and the importance of being able to appreciate the perspective of geological time. Featuring illustrations by Haley Hagerman, this compelling book offers a new way of thinking about our place in time, showing how our everyday lives are shaped by processes that vastly predate us, and how our actions today will in turn have consequences that will outlast us by generations. Carter speaks to Marcia Bjornerud, author of Timefulness: How Thinking Like a Geologist Can Help Save the World. Timefulness reveals how knowing the rhythms of Earth’s deep past and conceiving of time as a geologist does can give us the perspective we need for a more sustainable future. Science theories are based on a body of evidence and many tests.

Inferences can be made based on what you observe combined with scientific ideas. The lifespan of Earth can seem unfathomable compared to the brevity of human existence, but this view of time denies our deep roots in Earth’s history-and the magnitude of our effects on the planet. Geologists use observations of and ideas about rocks and fossils to make inferences about past environments. Timefulness: How Thinking Like a Geologist Can Help Save the World Marcia Bjornerud Why an awareness of Earths temporal rhythms is critical to our planetary survival Collections: Focus on Climate Look Inside Hardcover Price: 16.95/£13.99 ISBN: 9780691202631 Published: Pages: 224 Size: 5.5 x 8.5 in. Few of us have any conception of the enormous timescales of our planet’s long history, and this narrow perspective underlies many of the environmental problems we are creating.

Thinking like a geologist