The research foci of my students and I have spanned recently from the natural geological laboratory of western South America to the utilization of New York’s Paleozoic strata and Precambrian basement to find more environmentally benign ways to meet society’s needs for energy. Ongoing projects focus on geothermal energy in the Appalachian basin, with forays into the environmental history near Ithaca NY during the waning of Pleistocene ice sheets.