[1] The bulk composition of the silicate portion of the Earth (BSE) has long been assumed to be tied to chondrites, in which refractory, lithophile elements like Sm and Nd exist in chondritic relative abundances. However, the Nd from 0.51263 (chondritic) to 0.51300. The new BSE composition is depleted in highly incompatible elements, including K, relative to the chondrite-based BSE, and offers a solution the ''missing '' 40 Ar paradox. This BSE compositional model requires that >83% of the mantle is depleted to form continental crust. It also implies a $30% reduction in BSE U, Th and K, and therefore in the current rate of radiogenic heating and, thus, a proportional increase in the heat flow delivered to surface by plate tectonics. We explore thermal history models including effects related to a newly recognized evolution in the style of plate tectonics over Earth history: The lower radiogenic heat production may delay the onset of core convection and dynamo action to as late as 3.5 Gyr.