Anthropocene (original) (raw)
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, backed up by an impressive amount of data, trace the history of our entry into the Anthropocene, an era characterised by the impact of human activities on the earth's physical and biological systems. These historians of science make a stand against the deliberately mystifying narrative that suggests that the major changes at play were practically unknown until recent decades. In doing so, they highlight the conflicts between asymmetric forces and interests and call for a repoliticisation of the history of this era.
"The Anthropocene," or, Gaia Shrugs
Journal of Contemporary Archaeology 1:1, 2014
Until recently, the Earth and its inhabitants were living happily in the holocene epoch, the beginning of which was stipulated as the end of the last ice age. However, for over a decade, the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) has been promoting the notion of a new geological epoch, “the anthropocene,” to the point that its meme, as they say, has begun to go viral. “The anthropocene” is purportedly to be distinguished from the holocene by the sheer aggregation of humanity’s global effects. Our planetary footprint is now to be accorded primary credit for the geological status of the planet--hence, “the anthropocene.” However, I am placing this term in scare quotes to remind my reader that at as of yet, “the anthropocene” is not an observation, it is a slogan. It has been invented and presented to our attention for a cluster of reasons that are significantly other than scientific.
Anthropocene: New Geological Era or New Biophysical
2021
The Anthropocene has created a new cartography where various discursive levels are intertwined. It unites two fields of knowledge: geology and anthropology. In the 19th century, Romanticism challenged the separation between natural sciences and spirit sciences. With the Anthropocene a geological era is established, but with an epistemological dimension: environmental catastrophes are not a passive "object", they become an agent of social and political change. Images of the world (Weltbild) turn nature into an animated whole that challenges the dual vision: observer and observed. There is no nature without "observer", nor geology without anthropology. The Anthropocene modifies the foundations of our view of the world where we had excluded life. This is how concepts such as symbiogenesis, homeostasis, etc., which make visible and try to explain phenomena that are otherwise inexplicable. The Naturwissenschaft by J.W. Goethe is a point of support, with all these idea...
The Pandemic Within, 2021
According to many climate and environmental scientists, we are entering a phase in human history which will be characterized by huge changes in the earth's atmosphere and biosphere-global warming of course being the most pressing issue. Humanity's largely destructive influence on its unique planetary life support system has gained such a momentum lately that earth system scientists declare we have entered a new geological era, the so-called Anthropocene, in which the human (anthropos) has become the most influential geological (f)actor, trumping the natural ones in every respect. While the Anthropocene attests to the enormous power of a techno-scientifically empowered humanity to radically disrupt the earthly ecosystem upon which it fundamentally depends for its very survival, it simultaneously reveals that utter dependence, and summons us to radically rethink our residence upon the planet. At this conference we reflect upon, inventory and systematize the challenges posed to us by these developments from the standpoint of SPM's core foci, with a special emphasis on issues of ontology, epistemology, practice and wider societal consequences concerning power and politics.
This paper looks at why many people are not hearing or listening to the experts, "us," when we argue for more efforts to protect the environment, slow the extirpation of other species, slow the extinction events of other species, slow the carbonization and acidification of the oceans, loss of polar ice, and the many other environmental concerns important to the continuation of life as we know it on our earth. It suggests that scientists, "again us," might share some culpability for the mitigated strength of our voices as we warn others of the dangers ahead.
Humans versus Earth: the quest to define the Anthropocene
Nature, 2019
The first explosion of a nuclear bomb in 1945 and later blasts spread radionuclides around the globe. C rawford Lake is so small it takes just 10 minutes to stroll all the way around its shore. But beneath its surface, this pond in southern Ontario in Canada hides something special that is attracting attention from scientists around the globe. They are in search of a distinctive marker buried deep in the muda signal designating the moment when humans achieved such power that they started irreversibly transforming the planet. The mud layers in this lake could be ground zero for the Anthropocene-a potential new epoch of geological time. This lake is unusually deep for its size so its waters never fully mix, which leaves its bottom undisturbed by burrowing worms or currents. Layers of sediment accumulate like tree rings, creating an archive reaching back nearly 1,000 years. In high fidelity, it has captured evidence of the Iroquois people, who cultivated maize (corn) along the lake's banks at least 750 years ago, and then of the European settlers, who began Researchers are hunting for nuclear debris, mercury pollution and other signs to define the Anthropocene, a proposed new geological epoch that recognizes how people have transformed the planet.