I’m optimistic about this coming new decade and ecstatic for new beginnings.

This year I am throwing myself fully into writing a very ambitious textbook entitled “The Essential Guide to Planet Earth,” which will be an Open Resource Textbook, offered as an online WikiBook, Kindle, and traditional hardback book for students interested in how the planet we live on works.

The book will be a textbook for non-scientists covering basic aspects of physics, chemistry, geology and biology, and written for everyone to understand. It features various scientific discoveries, and how they were made. The book has been a joy to write so far. I’ve learned so much in writing and drafting this textbook that it will be a real joy to share with other readers.

It will be released in the summer of 2020, as I still have numerous chapters to write and edit. The book will be used in my large enrollment GEO 1360 class, but can be read outside of my class, or optioned for other instructors who teach similar classes at other colleges and universities, such as Earth System Science or Geoscience Course, as well as basic Physical Sciences for Non-Majors.

This project has taken over almost all my time between my normal teaching schedule, but it is something I’m very proud of and something my students will enjoy, as well as making the book freely available. I’m excited to finally finish it this coming year.

I’ll be producing videos over the summer covering each chapter, which be a spin off YouTube channel and will start appearing by August of 2020. This will be simple readings of the textbook, with some nice visuals added and will be a way for learning online in a more personal format than just reading text.

I’m excited for the new year, and new decade ahead.