The Earth Sciences (climatology, hydrology, paleontology, human geography, oceanography, to name a few) are extremely important to us and our community of humans. So we ask, why isn't there a Nobel Prize for Earth Science? 

All over the world, there are problems to be solved and innovations to be made concerning the earth and its inhabitants. The Nobel Prize helps to further innovations and research into the fields in which prizes are awarded. 

When we learned that there is currently no Nobel Prize for the field of Earth Science, we were shocked.

We argue that in the current moment, and certainly in the future, the earth sciences will be there to help us solve problems and create positive change for all of humanity. Innovations we cannot even possibly imagine are already brewing in the minds of young scientists, and the earth sciences especially need more exposure, more resources, and more opportunities to educate all populations.

Many people are uninformed and confused about climate change. Is it any wonder, when only 7 % of the high schoolers in the USA took earth science courses, according to a 2010 study? (Source: The Atlantic, Americans Are Missing a Key Stratum of Modern Knowledge, Kendra Pierre-Louis, 2022). Most likely, even fewer of those 7% went on to college to continue work in the field of Earth Science. This has produced a scarcity of resources, scientists, and innovators, which could literally help save our beloved planet, and therefore us, from disaster.

Creating a Nobel Prize category for Earth Science will show the world how important these topics are to education, to the future, and to future scientists like us. 

The committee should create this category to inspire people to dream, invent, create, and explore, and to place earth science rightly in its place: up on the pedestal with physics, medicine, and chemistry. 

Our class hopes that you agree and will sign and share our petition. Nobel Prize Committee, please create an Earth Science category for the Nobel Prize!

With Respect and Hope,

Some Members of Olivia’s 3rd Grade Class

Isabella Bird Community School

Denver, Colorado