EarthSky helps celebrate International Year of Planet Earth

The science and wonder of our planet Earth will capture the imaginations of EarthSky listeners in a special group of 2009 podcasts designed as part of the International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE) celebration. The EarthSky podcasts will help IYPE bring a public and scientific focus to the richness and usefulness of the knowledge of the world’s 400,000 Earth scientists.

The science initiative and the podcasts are built around 10 Earth science themes relevant to society, including climate, groundwater, and health. Podcasts in the series will explain, among other things, <> new theories about the extinction of the dinosaurs<>, <>how scientists are rethinking water use in the 21st century<>, and the <>first-ever discovery of magma below Earth’s surface<>. The EarthSky podcasts are a special project of the Geological Society of America and are made possible by the National Science Foundation and the US Geological Survey. Each of the podcasts will be heard 15 million times around the globe.

The goal of the podcasts is to demonstrate how the Earth sciences contribute to a better world. The International Year of Planet Earth continues through the end of 2009.

The EarthSky Promise: To bring the ideas, strategies and research results of scientists to people around the world, with the goal of illuminating pathways to a sustainable future.