Dear Members and Friends of the DMG,
My two-year term as Chair of the DMG is coming to an end, and I will be handing the reins over to Frank Schilling of KIT at the end of the year, though I will continue to serve as his deputy for another year. In my final message as Chair, I would like to offer a brief outlook on the Society’s near future, even though experience has shown that many things develop more slowly than initially hoped.
Over the past two years, the DMG’s young researchers’ group has adopted the name YoungMins, and the General Assembly has granted it the status of a working group, establishing it as an integral part of the DMG and guaranteeing it a permanent seat on the Executive Board. As a group of student representatives, the YoungMins naturally experience higher turnover than other groups, but they have so far been able to effectively fill the corresponding positions. In this regard, I also call on the students among the DMG members to get involved with the YoungMins and take advantage of this opportunity to network and effectively advocate for the interests of younger members within the DMG.
The project to come to terms with the DMG’s Nazi past, which was presented in more detail at the General Assembly in Dublin, is now underway, though it will certainly keep us busy for the next two years. I am particularly curious to see what will come to light about our society’s past and await the historians’ open-ended investigation with an open mind.
The biggest challenge remains the closer integration of the German geoscience societies, a topic that has been discussed in great detail over the past two years. There have been workshops and policy votes within the individual societies, as well as at least a dozen meetings of the GeoDE task force—which consists of representatives from the societies united under the DVGeo and originally came together to develop a concrete model for the new alliance. The group does not yet have much to show in concrete terms, but that does not have to remain the case. In general, there is agreement on the goals and on a number of fundamental points, and with the newly elected representatives from the DMG and DGGV, we will hopefully be able to achieve tangible progress in this area in the near future. The fundamental goal is a large geo-society with many thousands of members that is also recognized by the public as the voice of the geosciences in Germany. The DVGeo, founded in 2015, is in principle already taking on parts of these tasks and is registered as a lobbying association in the German Bundestag’s lobby registry. It thus also acts as a political voice and regularly organizes parliamentary evenings in Berlin for members of the Bundestag, during which they are informed about geoscience topics relevant to society.
A major challenge for the future political engagement of the DVGeo—or any new, large geoscience society—will be to thoroughly prepare the relevant statements and give members the opportunity to contribute their input before publication, drawing on the diverse expertise represented within the geosciences. This communication between the Executive Board, the Advisory Board, and the members has always worked very well within the DMG, and I consider this combination of reflecting democratic diversity of opinion and engaging in objective, science-based discussion to be a great asset and a highly positive organizational culture that defines the DMG today. This approach should be incorporated into the DVGeo in this form and established as a culture from the very beginning within a large geosciences society. These are not mere platitudes from an outgoing chair, but rather reflections stemming from experience—for example, with the fracking debate in the fall of 2022. In that instance, the pamphlet published by our sister society without consulting its members generated a great deal of discontent and shook the trust of many DMG members, leading them to express doubts to me about the proposed (partial) mergers.
The debate over the fracking letter has, I believe, shown that the geosciences find themselves caught between the fossil fuel industry—which traditionally offers a lucrative career path for its graduates—on the one hand, and revitalized and new fields of activity arising from the energy and heating transition that is finally gaining momentum, on the other. The fact that the geosciences are becoming increasingly aware of their social responsibility—which stems from the insights they themselves have gained—also contributes to this shift. In the DMG’s statement at the time, we cited several examples of fields of activity, such as the accelerated expansion of renewable energy sources, the exploration of metal ore deposits (including the environmentally sound use of domestic resources), the development of new materials, the applications of drilling technology for geothermal energy generation and CO₂ injection, and the development of negative CO₂ emission processes.
In the future, there will need to be an intensive discussion within the geosciences—just as there will be in the general public—about what role(s) we wish to assume as a scientific association. It is to be feared that proponents of continuing fossil-fuel-based energy and heat supply will attempt to exert decisive influence, trying to save these harmful technologies for the next decade through a bit of greenwashing. Standing in opposition to this are the modern geosciences, which take responsibility for society and help shape the transition to a decarbonized way of life and economy. Each and every one of you can contribute to this effort. Stay active and help shape the future of DMG and DVGeo!
Yours,
Horst Marschall
