Marcia Bjornerud shows how geologists chart the planet's past explaining how we can determine
the pace of solid Earth processes such as mountain building and erosion and comparing them with
the more unstable rhythms of the oceans and atmosphere. These overlapping rates of change in
the Earth system--some fast some slow--demand a poly-temporal worldview one that Bjornerud
calls timefulness. She explains why timefulness is vital in the Anthropocene this human epoch
of accelerating planetary change and proposes sensible solutions for building a more
time-literate society. This compelling book presents a new way of thinking about our place in
time enabling us to make decisions on multigenerational timescales. The lifespan of Earth may
seem unfathomable compared to the brevity of human existence but this view of time denies our
deep roots in Earth's history--and the magnitude of our effects on the planet.
