TAG - Geological Society of Australia

Cam Bryan’s GeojottingsLet the games begin …By now the Games of the XXX Olympiad will be a distantmemory and we will have forgotten all the hype,expectations and soul-searching that went on. No doubtwe are now in the ‘let the post-mortems begin’ phase, which maygo on for four years: more soul-searching.Two things strike me about the Olympics Games. First, withgold medals in everyone’s thoughts it was suggested that pouringmore money into sport would ensure more gold in the future.This is somewhat akin to the idea of pouring more troops into abattle in order to defeat the enemy. There was also the suggestionthat we need more compulsory sport in our schools to find thegold-medal winners of the future. But surely the future ofAustralia depends not on gold medals but on a highly skilledworkforce. We need more money spent on mathematics andscience in our high schools (let alone more emphasis on the threeR’s in primary schools).The second thing that struck me was the amount of mediaattention given to the Games. It was hard to get away from themeven if you didn’t sit up all night and watch Channel 9. My rationof media is restricted to some TV news and a stream of RSS feedson my computer. Even on this limited diet I could always keepup-to-date with who was winning (or losing).Yet, at the same time, in our own country we were celebratingthe geological equivalent of the Olympic Games: the 34thInternational Geological Congress (IGC) in Brisbane. How muchmedia attention did it attract? Nothing showed up on my RSSfeeds, and very little on the TV news. The only item I read wasfrom a petroleum industry website that reported a GeoscienceAustralia study of the petroleum potential of the northernoffshore Perth Basin. Obviously there is very little interest in thescience that underpins the Australian economy. This goes backto my first point: the lack of funding for science in the schoolsystem. With little or no understanding of the role of science insociety, the media can safely ignore the local geological Olympiadand concentrate on the Olympiad on the other side of the world.One media release put out by the 34th IGC was entitled ‘Rockstars head to Brisbane’ and mentioned ‘Popular BBC presenterIain Stewart and former Shell Chairman Lord Ron Oxburgh’. Thisprompts me to ask, “Where are our own ‘rock stars’?” I am surewe can all compile such a list, which would be very subjective.The point I make here is that while the GSA recognises its ‘rockstars’ through the award of medals at the Australian EarthScience Conventions, there is very little wider recognition of ouroutstanding Earth Scientists. I usually look in vain in the twiceyearlyAustralian Honours Lists for names of geologists. There areplenty of names from the medical profession, the arts andpolitics, but very few Earth Scientists. Obviously other professionshave much better ways of nominating their members for awards.Surely this is something that our own Awards Committee shouldbe involved in.Let me finish my comparison of the two ‘Olympiads’ on amore cheerful note. The EARTH magazine website has aninteresting article ‘Welcome to the GEOlympics’ setting out ageological decathlon through Great Britain(http://www.earthmagazine.org/article/bare-earth-elementswelcome-geolympics).These must-see geological sites in GreatBritain range from Fingal’s Cave to the Dorset Jurassic coast.While not everyone will agree with the author’s choice, they doshow the enormous range of fascinating geological features thatexist in the UK. It would be interesting to compile a similar geologicaldecathlon for Australia. I suspect a start could be madeat the 34th IGC website looking at the wide range of excursionsoffered (and cancelled!). Have a look athttp://www.34igc.org/field-trips.php and see what you think.Free geology books and maps availableContact Peter Bone at frankieshouse@gmail.com1. Twenty Five Years of Geology in New EnglandAH Voisey, The University of New England, Armidale, NSW2. Alcheringa — An Australian Journal ofPalaeontology Vol. 1, No. 1, 1975 Graphic Services PtyLtd, Adelaide SA3. Chronological Narrative of the 1969–71Mauna Ulu Eruption of Kilauea Volcano,Hawaii, Geological Survey Professional Paper 1056US Government Printing Office, Washington, 19794. Historic Ground Failures in NorthernCalifornia Associated with EarthquakesGeological Survey Professional Paper 993 US GovernmentPrinting Office, Washington, 19785. Landforms Illustrated CR Twidale & MR FoaleThomas Nelson (Australia) Ltd, 1969Maps prepared by United States Department of the InteriorGeological Survey44 |TAG December 2012