Is the public seeking greater accountability of the occupational group?
The general public is not clamoring for greater accountability from geologists because much of the work done by geologists is not known or visible to the public. For example, remediation activities at hazardous waste sites are deliberately enclosed and secured from the public for health and safety reasons. Other geological investigations take place underground or at restricted construction sites, also off-limits to the populace at large. If indeed a layperson or group who hires a geologist to represent a particular point of view to, for instance, a governmental agency, that person or group has no criteria by which to judge the performance of that geologist. In many cases, geological services, being regulatory- or service-driven, may lack tangible factors by which to evaluate performance. In this case, it is the responsibility of those who offer such services to assure that full measure of value is given and it is the responsibility of state government to provide the legal framework wit
