Among the natural sciences, ours is the quintessential interdisciplinary science, providing a vital perspective on how Earth’s physical and geochemical templates simultaneously sustain and threaten life, and influences human interactions with Earth. The intellectual breadth of the Earth and environmental sciences covers the collective study of Earth’s atmosphere and oceans, its ecology, and the solid Earth, with the growing recognition that humans are one of the most significant agents of change in these systems. Earth and environmental sciences are the cornerstones of sustainability science, which is becoming ever more critical for our global society.