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Oxygen by N. Lane
Published: March 29, 2026
Video Description
Check out the rest of the Geoscience Careers 'Work For Earth!' playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL69bBhmsrgfsP8Pc6F1bRSPS-WsNFAiLy
If you'd rather watch short clips from each of my geoscience career interviews so far (instead of diving right into hour-long conversations), check out my recent compilation video that puts together short clips from different types of geoscientists so you can quickly get a sense of which career or careers you'd like to learn more about! :D https://youtu.be/ppz_0QA39pQ
0:00 What is Economic Geology?
2:11 Economic Geologists in Mining vs Oil & Gas?
4:24 How “critical minerals” have changed Economic Geology
7:30 Day in the life of an Economic Geologist
13:01 Where do you do this work?
15:51 What inspired you to pursue Economic Geology?
19:48 Importance of mining for our sustainable future
21:23 Working with environment regulators (it’s a team)
23:56 Take advantage of the turn over!
25:23 Bioremediation and Biorecovery
26:27 Have environmental protections changed this job?
31:24 Will AI replace these positions?
35:42 Biggest misconceptions about Economic Geology
37:41 Caring about the geology (not the money)
39:33 Salary potential
41:33 Is a graduate degree increase required? (no)
43:33 How to do what you want!
45:26 Economically viable resources vs total resources
47:58 Rare Earth Elements
49:35 Why so few REEs in U.S.?
52:17 Greenland???
57:30 Mining Asteroids & the Moon
59:32 Deep Sea Mining
1:01:01 Gray areas & future directions…
1:03:46 Scarcity drives commodity prices
1:06:15 Elizabeth’s Business Nuna LLC
1:12 Favorite & least favorite part of this career
Explore geology deeper with CampGeo – podcast-like conversation with visuals that bring geological concepts to life! Check it out here: https://campcourses.app.link/p5q0W0bxwMb
You can also find their podcast, PlanetGEO, on spotify & apple podcast: https://planetgeocast.com/
GEO GIRL Website: https://www.geogirlscience.com/ (visit my website to see all my courses, shop merch, learn more about me, & donate to support the channel if you'd like!)
Non-textbook books I recommend:
Oxygen by D. Canfield: https://amzn.to/3gffbCL
Brief history of Earth by A. Knoll: https://amzn.to/3w3hC1I
Life on young planet by A. Knoll: https://amzn.to/2RBMpny
Some assembly required by N. Shubin: https://amzn.to/3w1Ezm2
Your inner fish by N. Shubin: https://amzn.to/3cpw3Wb
Oxygen by N. Lane: https://amzn.to/3z4FgwZ
Alien Oceans by K. Hand: https://amzn.to/3clMx1l
Life's Engines: https://amzn.to/3w1Nhke
Tools I use as a geologist/teacher/student:
Geology field notebook: https://amzn.to/3lb6dJf
Geology rock hammer: https://amzn.to/3DZw8MA
Geological compass: https://amzn.to/3hfbdLu
Geological hand lens: https://amzn.to/3jXysM5
Disclaimer: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission, but there is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting my channel so I can continue to provide you with free content each week! And as always, let me know your topic suggestions in the comments down below!