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The article focuses on geologists who faced or are facing legal battles due to several events in the last couple of years. There are geologists who have been accused of not predicting natural hazards, of potentially adversely impacting water quality, of spying, among other things. In 2009, geologist Markus Haring faced a lawsuit for inducing some 30 earthquakes through drilling and injecting pressurized water into rocks 5 kilometers below the surface to generate electricity.

The author offers insight on the problem of the cycle of wildfires and debris flows facing Californians and other citizens of the American Southwest. The author warns that building a home at the opening of a canyon would not be a wise decision because of potential debris flows. The author thinks that the cleaning of mudflow resulting from the forest fire debris on the San Gabriel Mountains raised a money issue for federal and city officials of La Canada-Flintridge. The author sees that wildfires and debris flows will be a continued saga in the West.

The author reflects on why many people cannot reconcile the idea of evolution and deity. He expounds on the debate among geologists regarding the concepts of evolution and intelligent design which gained momentum during the 1800s. He wonders how the Wallace brothers, Alfred and John, had different views on religion and politics in spite of the fact that they both contributed in developing the theory of natural selection and its role in evolution.

The author discusses a proposed bill in the California Senate that aims to change the state rock from serpentine to another rock because of serpentine's alleged connection with asbestos. According to the author, serpentine is actually a mineral and not a rock. He argues that the actual state rock is serpentinite, a blue to jade-green rock that is formed from the alteration of oceanic mantle rocks.

The author analyzes the circumstances leading to the Gulf Oil Spill and other oil spills and the inadequacy of the responses. It mentions the necessity for deep water oil drilling for countries including Norway. Investigations have proven that the accidents were caused by bad decisions, and disaster preparation were inadequate. It feels that the political future of deep water offshore drilling is imperiled if disaster responses are not fixed. It is optimistic that the environment and economies would recover eventually as it allegedly did in the past.

The author reflects on the availability of a tectonic weapon that could trigger earthquakes. He argues that it has long been believed that such weapon could be available and many times in the past when earthquakes will strike, such as that in Haiti, that world leaders will blame the U.S. for triggering the catastrophe. He denounces the outlandish belief and proceeds to elaborate how an earthquake is triggered.

The author reflects on the storage of radioactive and toxic waste underground or in nuclear waste repository sites. He notes that these wastes are being produced by nuclear power plants. He expresses his concern on the disposal of these spent nuclear fuel and low-level radioactive wastes because he believes that these wastes cannot be simply disposed but have to be stored for a very long time. He mentions that finding repository sites are being supported by several countries but are not faring much better than the U.S.

The article focuses on the reform of antiquated, obsolete and destructive mining laws dating back as far as 1872 issued by then U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant. The laws then allowed federal lands to be bought at a low cost and mined as much minerals found without any royalties to the government. In November 2007, the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2007 limited patents on mining claims, royalties and fees, and other reforms to the old law but not to repeal them.