1 My debut as editor of Geoscience Canada surely proves the adage that ignorance is bliss. Not having had the experience of an editorial responsibility of this magnitude, it was hard to marshal arguments against the pressure…er, invitation to accept. So, I will strive to keep my head above water and the journal’s reputation intact; but my tenure will not necessarily be a lengthy one and would-be editors out there should not forget that an opportunity is at hand.

2 I want to acknowledge and thank the outgoing team of Sonya Dehler and Steve McCutcheon, who have served a three-year term during which important changes occurred in the delivery of GC, such as online access, digitizing of back issues, and making the digital version of GC available to members of the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists. Sonya and Steve ushered in some new series of articles for your reading enjoyment, and as most contributors to GC would know, the S&S administration implemented needed improvements in "housekeeping" items on the GAC website, such as the instructions to authors and editors.

3 There has been one change on the editorial board, Fran Haidl takes over from Graham Williams as associate editor responsible for educationrelated articles. We thank Graham for his contributions to GC, and for the excellent "parting gifts" he left by way of ideas for future education-oriented articles. The remaining associate editors, Bruce Broster, Denis Lavoie, Carmel Lowe, John Greenough and Alan Morgan, will be continuing in their roles.

4 Indications are that this year will see contributions toward most, if not all, of current GC series, and the addition of some new ones. Ongoing series and their "champions" (Assistant Editors) include Economic Geology Models (Dave Lentz), Geology of Wine (Roger MacQueen), Geology of the Parliament Buildings (Doug VanDine), Igneous Rock Associations (Georgia Pe-Piper), Great Mining Camps of Canada (Bob Cathro and Steve McCutcheon) and Remote Predictive Mapping (Jeff Harris). New series to be introduced this year will commemorate the International Year of Planet Earth (series co-editors Reg Wilson and Jim Teller), and the rapidly growing field of geoconservation and geotourism. The latter will be promoted as our "Geoheritage" series (series editor Al Donaldson), and is a spin-off of the very successful symposium held at the Québec City GAC-MAC.

5 The IYPE series was conceived as one of the ways that GAC could participate in IYPE, and at the same time broaden the knowledge of many geoscientists on critical issues. Presented as a combination of reviews and sometimes personal perspectives, they will shed light on the state of our knowledge of various aspects of the "earth system" and how geoscientists can best contribute to its health. The following excerpt from the IYPE website [http://yearofplanetearth.org/ index.html] perhaps best sums up the message for earth scientists: The men and women in Earth science today…constitute the largest living database of information about the past and present of planet Earth that has ever existed. …Earth scientists’ work has come to encompass all interactions between land, life, water and air in making up the total Earth System. …Earth science is at the forefront of understanding how the Earth System works, and stewardship is an issue right at the forefront of policy. We are the stewards of planet Earth. Humanity’s survival… depends on maintaining a functioning Earth System. For that reason, activities that interfere with this delicately balanced system are a matter of global concern. An attempt was made to engage authors for each of the ten IYPE themes, and although this was not entirely successful, we feel that our readership will be very interested in the overviews of such diverse fields as Groundwater, Resources, Earth and Health, Hazards, Climate, Earth and Life, and Soils. A single article on the "Oceans" theme proved impracticable because of the wide range of approaches that could be taken, with the result that "Oceans" will form its own "mini-series". Articles will appear in the remaining issues of Volume 35 (2008), and well into Volume 36 (2009). This issue contains the first installment of the IYPE series, authored by Dr. Jeremy Richards, whose article "Non-Renewable Resources, Sustainable Development, and Human Evolution – Short Story or Opening Chapter?" expounds on the "Resources" theme. An introduction to the series is provided by Dr. Godfrey Nowlan of GSC Calgary, a member of the Canadian National Committee for IYPE.

6 In conclusion, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Bev Strickland (layout) for her outstanding work; I look forward to working with her, as well as with Jean Alfred Renaud (translator) and Peter Russell (illustrator). Incidentally the layout of the journal continues to be done at the GSNL, whose support is once more gratefully acknowledged. Finally, I welcome your constructive comments and suggestions to improve Geoscience Canada and/or its editor.

Reginald A. Wilson