ABSTRACT
As illustrated in Figure 9.1, the geosphere is the solid Earth (which sometimes is not so solid when earthquakes or volcanic eruptions occur). The geosphere is an enormous source of natural capital, the management and preservation of which are of utmost importance to sustainability.1 It provides the platform upon which most food is grown and is the source of plant fertilizers, construction materials, and fossil fuels that humans use. As part of its natural capital, the geosphere receives large quantities of consumer and industrial wastes, although past and current practices of using the geosphere as the anthrosphere’s waste dump are ultimately unsustainable. As shown in Figure 9.1, the geosphere interacts strongly with the hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere, and anthrosphere.
