In my twenty years of experience,  I have found that professional licensed geologists in the Commonwealth of Virginia provide critical assurance to the public in terms of human health and environmental protection.    It is my opinion that the statute that created the voluntary Geologist certification program in Virginia should be amened to make licensure of Geologists a mandatory program and that the statutory language doing so should link our profession to public welfare and the safeguarding of life, health, property, and the environment.