La nascita di 'Geology is the way'

I have launched the Geology is the way page nearly a decade ago, on the 7th of January, 2012, when I was a little more than a geology student.

I would really like to say that Geology is the way – at the time named “Scienze Geologiche” – started with great things in mind. The reality is that I was just really passionate about geology and wanted to share some really nice posts about it with others.

As the time passed, I started to grow up and not only in age. I first obtained my Bachelor in 2012, then my Masters in 2015 – both at Pisa – and finally my PhD in 2019 at the University of Firenze. The page and its posts have always accompanied my growth as a geologist and continue to do so now that I am ready to start my postdoc in Kochi (Japan).

As I grew up as a scientist, I became aware of the many challenges geologists face in the modern world, not just within their own research fields but more broadly with their role within the society. Earth scientists are crucial for our industrialized  society, for example in finding and exploiting natural resources, yet at the same time they are one of the frontline research groups unravelling climate change e helping us build a more sustainable future. Fundamental research in the Earth Sciences has not just made us understand better how our planet works, but has proven invaluable in saving lives in areas exposed to geologic hazards such as floods, landslides, earthquakese volcanoes.

In a changing society, geologists have demonstrated that they may be active voices of change as well, as shown by the #BlackInGeoscience e #WomenInGeoscience movements, as well as associations like the IAGD, that continue to demand equality and inclusion for everyone in the geosciences.

The ongoing pandemic that locked us out of the field raised my awareness of how important is the work of many, many, many Earth Science educators and communicators is. These people have literally dedicated their lives to make geology accessible, not just to their students, but for everyone.

And that’s how I finally decided to launch the geologyistheway.com website – to do my part giving voice to all the voices in the geosciences, while doing what I love: sharing some neat geological pictures and revealing their stories.

P.S: I would like to thank Elenora, Hannahe David for pushing me to write for the Features From The Field on the EGU blog and Callan for his inspiring work on Mountain Beltway! It’s thanks to them that I have found the motivation to start my own blog!

Thanks to Bill Landenberger and Sandra McLaren for checking this post!