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Our transcription: Perhaps more than any other science, geology has influenced the evolution of civilization and the history of nations. Natural geologic hazards have devastated cities and contributed to the fall of governments. The geographic distribution of fossil fuels, precious metals, and gems, and industrial minerals, have created empires and caused wars. It has allowed the citizens of some nations to enjoy boundless prosperity while those living in less fortunate regions, struggle to eke out a marginal existence. But geology has given us more than oil, metals, and predictions of natural disasters. The Science of Geology was founded, not for economic benefit, but from human curiosity about the Earth, and it's provided us with a way to understand this planet we call "home." Geologists rarely conduct experiments. It's not possible to carefully control the geologic conditions in this global laboratory. Instead, working from the shreds of evidence that have escaped erosion and destruction by geologic processes, geologists have pieced together the details of Earth function and history.
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