Molecular clouds are the crucial link between gas and stars in a
galaxy. Star formation is possible only when and where molecular
clouds form, and once these clouds form their internal processes
regulate the rate and efficiency of that star formation. Any theory of
star formation is therefore first and foremost a theory for the
behavior of molecular clouds. In this talk a present models that allow
quantitative calculation of the molecular fraction in a galaxy's ISM,
the star formation rate in the molecular gas, and the lifetime and
star formation efficiency of the clouds. These calculations reproduce
the observed properties of local galaxies very well, and I discuss the
implications of these results for future observations, and for galaxy
formation and evolution beyond the local universe.
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