The Earth through time / Земля сквозь время

Students enrol in an Earth History course for many reasons. Often it is simply to satisfy a college science requirement. Those of us who teach the course, however, strive to provide a better reason. We hope to instill in our students knowledge about how our planet became a haven for life; how change has dominated Earth history; and how change will continue to challenge us in the future. In the geologic past, change has been driven by natural forces. Now we humans, only recently arrived on Earth, are an additional cause of change. More often than not, we cause change that is harmful. These are reasons why our students need to more fully understand this small and overcrowded planet. They need to learn from its history, its catastrophes, and its successes <...>