See CLEVER Planets scientist and Rice University Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences Professor and Chair interviewed by HMNS on Facebook LIVE video at 4 PM (CST), prior to a lecture he will give entitled "Volcanoes, Life and Energy" at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences in Houston, TX on Tuesday, October 2nd at 6:30 PM in the Planetarium.

"Volcanoes are the gateway between the Earth's deep interior and its surface environment. Over millions of years, volcanoes are what build the continents and provide the carbon, water, and other elements necessary to have an ocean, atmosphere and biosphere. Dr. Cin-Ty Lee will reveal how volcanoes, directly and indirectly, are also behind many of our natural resources, from copper to lithium to diamonds. Even the carbon in the petroleum and natural gas that powers our economy derives ultimately from volcanoes. But volcanoes are not always life-giving. Volcanoes have been known to cause catastrophes, from destruction of civilizations to global mass extinctions."