Geography and Geology A Level students joined forces to attend an Earth Science lecture at Aquinas College in Stockport last Wednesday evening. The lecture was given by Professor Iain Stewart, a professor of Geoscience Communication at the University of Plymouth and Director of its Sustainable Earth Institute. Additionally, he has presented numerous Science BBC documentaries on tectonic processes, most notably ‘Earth: The Power of the Planet’.
His key focus for the lecture was based around applying Earth Science to pressing societal concerns – climate change, geo-resources, geo-energy and disaster risk reduction. In particular, he exemplified the mistakes made in the events leading up to the L’Aquila, Italy event in 2009. He highlighted the need to educate and inform society about the more pressing awaited event along the Anatolian fault in Turkey, thinking about disaster risk reduction. Ultimately our Sixth Form students were made to think about how to engage and make science accessible to societal members in order to mitigate impacts from natural hazards. His closing statement was about the pressing need for Earth Science to bridge the gap with Social Sciences.
