There is little doubt that we, humanity, face major challenges and that "business as usual" appears less and less as a viable option. The almost unfathomable debts of many countries-among them the most powerful ones-are but one example for a looming economic collapse. Decreasing soil cover, diminishing biodiversity, increasing human world population, the energy conundrum, global and regional climate change, poverty, fresh water scarcity, deforestation and land-use change are examples for environmental topics that not only demand serious attention but are largely related to the Earth sciences.
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