The Earth Science Literacy Initiative makes my ears prick up—its goal is a consensus document on the "the big ideas and supporting concepts essential for an earth system literate public." This week the folks at www.earthscienceliteracy.org have posted a working draft of the eight big ideas, each with nine supporting concepts. Feed your mind and feed back your comments during the rest of October.

The U.S. Geological Survey has a long and distinguished history, but one lasting blemish on its record was the "reduction in force" or RIF of 1995, when more than one-third of its work force was laid off. A peculiarly large proportion of those laid off were senior scientists. Allegations of age discrimination arose immediately. As I recall, one employee who began collecting and discussing evidence was unexpectedly promoted into a position in which he could no longer speak out. Eventually people went to court, and three weeks ago the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled for James Calzia and Chet Wrucke. Wrangling continues, but this landmark was reported in the San Francisco Chronicle, and a commenter added links to court documents. Apologies for those readers who consider this old news, but for many others the memories are fresh, and the damage to the agency's collegiality was lasting.

Next month the 2008 Nobel Prize winners will be announced, and thanks to Alfred Nobel the honorees will include physicists, medical researchers and chemists but not geoscientists. I've gotten over that, really I have, because there are other prestigious prizes for them. But the wound is fresh when it comes to the annual Ig Nobel prizes, awarded by the Annals of Improbable Research or AIG. This year's winners have just been announced, and they include such worthies as the researchers who determined that slime molds can solve puzzles, but surely geologists have produced absurd and obvious research during the past year. I . . . just can't think of any.

One place that geologists would fit in beautifully is the AIG's Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists; indeed, last week's MacArthur genius, David Montgomery, should be in it. They include beards, too, making large numbers of historic and current geologists eligible.

I was poking around the hills in my city the other day, investigating a sandstone. A few steps beyond the edge of the sandstone, the roadside showed no rocks whatever, just loose soil. But eventually I found a hard pod—a concretion—and pounded it open to find pure clay powder inside. That's how I knew the hillside was shale. Shale is what clay becomes when you bury it deep enough, and shale is usually eager to turn back into clay. This picture of shale is from a roadcut, and after only a few years in the sun and rain it would crumble at a touch. Shale wants to hide. That's why roadcuts are so important for getting fresh samples, even of reluctant rocks like shale.

Shale — Geology Guide photo