Cranfield Geological Services

Custodians
Custodians
Custodians
 

Earth Custodians Course

creator – Leonard Cecil Cranfield

Current role: CEO, Cranfield Geological Services International PL (2015-); MSc (James Cook University of North Queensland); BA, BSc (The University of Queensland).

Access the free complete course module (Module 1) with its accompanying Workbook and Preamble. Users are requested to go until the end of the Fundamentals section and register using the FREE Membership option.

 

Heritage and childhood

My family has lived in Australia for 200 years and is linked to its early colonisation. My great-great-grandfather and great grandfather each fathered thirteen children, typical of life in the nineteenth century. My grandfather, born in Sydney in 1880, became a banana farmer in the Tweed Shire and after moving to Brisbane in 1925. In Brisbane, owned a sports store, and my grandmother a florist shop.

I was raised in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia an only child of hard-working parents who were business owners. Societal values included a major focus on the protection of our home and business and wariness of trusting others.

Career

I was probably destined to be a geologist. Similar to many in my high school in the 1960s, I studied a science and mathematics focused course, and I enjoyed all the subjects and was considering a laboratory-based career in chemistry. However, as  I enjoyed spending time outdoors away from the city, I was directed to study geology by a family member even though I was previously unaware of  this career possibility.

My different roles as a geologist  included:

Creating ‘Custodians’ and   ‘Earthwise Custodians app

Due to eyesight issues, I am unable to drive. Consequently, I have written a book and app to outlinet the relation between geological processes and major issues of the 21st century with the following goals.

  1. Demonstrate locally how geological processes create and erode landscapes and resources that are used by human civilisations and deliver a market for geohistory tourism. This style of tourism aims to accomplish several main elements:
  1. Highlight the impact of the 21st century information age and its insatiable demand for a very large range of resources and show that the current throw away society is unsustainable inits use of natural resources and proposes major changes to human behaviour.
  2. Teach communities about geological processes and show that developments are creating sustainable environmental damage to their area or country.
  3. Compare past civilisations with 21st century trends showing why civilisations reach a zenith of development and then fail. Major reasons for failure appear to be the capacity to maintain control by conquest over other civilisations, lack of confidence in the system of government, endemic corruption, and destruction of habitat.
  4. Propose solutions to ameliorate land degradation, over clearing, and desertification and advote for adoption of those solutions.
  5. Optimise power generation, transport, in particular, promoting reuse of precious and rare resources and elimination of nob-recyclable waste.
  6. Develop community consciousness challenging government decisions that don’t deliver sustainable development outcomes.

INTRODUCTION

The course promotes understanding of critical issues of the 21st century challenging governments to be of, by, and for the people. Citizens should ensure government programs deliver to areas of true needs and not promote individual political gain.  The course promotes the power of community to advocate for benefits for all citizens. It is vital to expose government corruption that doesn’t protect  community human health, the earth’s ecosystem ecosystem and cultural heritage. Citizens need to find better ways of influencing government to  deliver outcomes from major developments that don’t continue to negatively impact  the earth’s ecosystem, human health, animal health and habitats.

History has shown that human civilisations have gained ascendency of other others and natural earth resources through conquest by war, enslavement and control of power to do whatever was necessary to achieve dominance over critical resources. Weight of numbers and firepower has been dominant in past conflicts.  In the 21st Century total war using nuclear arsenals could wipe out the whole human civilisation not only the aggressors in a major conflict. Major Politicians in all countries are corrupt and they would destroy natural environments for personal gain. Examples include  clearing of the Amazon rain forest to provide cheap fodder for the lucrative European Dairy industry and and mercury pollution of rivers by illegal gold mining in Chile linked to  laundering drug money  by drug dealers and corrupt politicians).

Prior to advocating the protection of humans, the land, oceans, animals and attempting to reverse the effect of human-induced change we need to be aware of what needs to change and the consequences of not changing.  The necessary changes are many, and complex  and difficult decisions need to be made urgently.  The only things we can change are our thoughts and actions and have enough impetus to champion these changes in order to stop the and reverse the major damage that has been caused. Our thoughts affect our behaviour and actions and have enough impetus to champion these changes in order to stop and reverse the damage. Changing our actions are now vital as for the first time in the history of the earth OUR species now affects the whole of the earth and could collapse its delicately balanced ecosystem. Our most critical resource is fresh water. It’s paradoxical that despite the large volumes of water there is relatively little available as fresh water vital for all life.

As a career geologist I am aware of a range of geological processes that have affected the earth and the links of these processes to human civilisations

A preamble to modules of the course looks at the changes each of us needs to make to our own behaviour first before being a custodian of our earth.

Custodians brings a vision for caring for our earth aims to deliver a view from of a career geologist on 21st Century problems and on current and emerging science to address the seemingly intractable issues that confront us in the 21st Century. This course expands on how geological processes and human civilisation has interacted and the role of government corruption and human greed  have brought humanity to the current situation.

 

This online course comprises 11 major modules with some auxiliary information in sub modules of these.

To find out more I have included:

 

 


MODULE SUMMARIES


Module 1
–  THE LARGE-SCALE GEOLOGICAL PROCESSES THAT AFFECT OUR EARTH

Earth Movements
Types of Earth Movements


Module 2 – Geological processes and creation and collapse of major  world civilisations

Political Corruption Index
Political Corruption Index

Collapse of Civilisations


 



MODULE  3 – Geohistory 

Geohistory of New York
Geohistory of New York
Geohistory of Sydney
Geohistory of Sydney


Module 4 – Geohistory and the 3 categories of Natural Wonders


Yellowstone National Park's Old Faithful Geyser

National Parks – Yellowstone USA

The Great Barrier Reef Image # 3
World heritage areas -The Great Barrier Reef

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Macchu Picchu - Amazon Zone Peru
UNESCO Geoparks – Macchu Picchu – Amazon Zone Peru

Module 5 – Sources of Ecosystem Degradation other than transport and manufacture  

Major Ecosystem Degradation
Major Ecosystem Degradation

 

Module 6 – Past 5 Mass Extinctions of Earth and the possible Anthropocene-induced 6th Mass extinction

Human Population
Human Population


Module 7 –
Chemistry and Technology

Minerals_Matter_Industry
Minerals_Matter_Industry

 

Module 8  –

POWER GENERATION DISTRIBUTION AND STORAGE

Power generation needs to be a 24/7/365 continuous operation. this is provided by grid power and a global drive for more ‘renewable energy’.

 

Three-Bladed Generator
Three-Bladed Generator
Vertical Generator
Vertical Generator

 

POWER GENERATION MODES

 

 

 


 

Module 9:

WHAT ARE THE COMPONENTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE? ITS EFFECTS AND HOW CAN HUMANITY CHANGE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT?

 

Climate_Changes interpreted from ice cores

Climate_Changes

 


 

Module 10: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Many documentaries already show degradation to land and oceans through human- induced change are highlighted for personal research and assessment of their contribution to the subject and include waste and pollution an, corruption, organised crime and influence of powerful lobby groups that are not promoting community well- being and health. Documentaries this year look at tipping points in the earths ecosystem that are close to being reached that will adversely affect the whole ecosystem adversely.


 

Module 11: Conclusions

Hold all levels of Australian government to account.

Deliver actions that are positive to sustaining and rebalancing earth’s ecosystem.

These proposed changes identify waste, pollution, destruction of biodiversity that affect human health and the environment.

Most require identification of a systemic threat and holding governments to account to stop damage to the environment, human health and natural biodiversity.

 

Custodians

 

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Custodians

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