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IXI
f we really want to understand another person we would probably begin
by examining their history, the environment in which they were raised,
their experiences when they were young, any catastrophes they have had
to endure.The same is true of our planet Earth.This is the only home we shall
ever have and it is wise for us to understand how it functions so that we can
adequately take care of it.To do this we need to know about its history.
Perhaps we have never considered just how remarkable, perhaps unique,
our planet is. We exist here today because of an amazing series of geological
coincidences, each of which has contributed to the life-supporting conditions
we currently find around us. This book is the story of that almost incredible
sequence of events that has culminated in the comforts of our Earth. We are
just the right distance from our neighborhood star, the Sun, to provide the
energy we need,but not in excess.The Moon is a stabilizing influence on our
planet’s r otation and tilt, ensuring the regularity of our seasons, our seed-time
and harvest. The temperature of the Earth allows that vital material, water, to
remain in a liquid state over much of the planet’s surface, acting as the birth-
place, the support system, and indeed the major component of life.The chem-
icals needed for life, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and sulfur, were
all present and available in the ancient oceans.Thus the unthinkable happened,
and life emerged, soon developing the vital green pigment, chlorophyll, by
means of which the energy of our Sun could be harnessed and the future of
living things assured.
foreword