How Popular is Earth Science?

How popular is earth science? There are various ways to assess the place of earth science in our education and society. A few years ago, the American Geoscience Institute collected data on high school science graduation requirements for all states in the USA. The survey found that while 22 states accepted an earth and space science course for graduation, only two states required a year-long earth/ environmental science course, whereas the number of states that required life science and physical science courses for graduation were 50 and 30 respectively¹. Overall, earth science education is underrated in our middle and high schools.