Technologies for utilizing natural resources create new job opportunities in the geosciences in the developing countries

Abstract

Water, soils, minerals, and biota constitute a community's most significant natural resources. Innovations in technology are generating new jobs in converting into a resource what was yesterday a non-resource; in developing process and control technologies to minimize wastes; and in waste recycling. " Resources are not, they become," in the words of Zimmerman. In the case of the developing countries, the technologies of choice have not only to be ecologically sustainable and economically viable, but more importantly, employment generating. The new kinds of jobs-for example, in poverty alleviation projects via micro-enterprises based on value-added processing of natural resources - have a strong environmental relevance and tend to lie at the interface of several traditional scientific disciplines. Geoscience graduates in the developing countries are best placed to take advantage of these new job opportunities involving Earth materials, but only if they are exposed to broad-based geoscience instruction. For example, the phosphorite of Minjungu, Tanzania, is radioactive; its uranium content is "200 ppm. Farmers want to use the phosphorite to fertilize soil, but the government is concerned that the uranium content of the phosphorite will leach into stream water, which is used for drinking. The problem was solved by applying the crushed phosphorite blended with bentonite, which impounded both uranium and phosphorus in the soil. Geoscience graduates with knowledge of soil mineralogy and of chemistry and radiation environment were found to be the best suited to advise farmers in this regard, rather than the soil scientists, chemists, and radiation physicists.