How do we, "the highest form of life" here on Earth, interact with the forces of nature? How did we get here? How did life evolve? How do we survive? Will our abilities to adapt always prevail? Will we survive,or will we be just another moment in geologic time, a thin strata, a simple index fossil of our triumphant era? This course will introduce you to the essential realities of living on a dynamic Earth. We will examine how geological events and processes (earthquakes, floods,land-slides, volcanic eruptions, and long-term and short-term climate changes) effect our survival, evolution, and adaptation. We will also critically examine geo-engineering, which has created many solutions to problems that would have otherwise impeded civilization's progress, but has also resulted in many unintended consequences.