Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Scientists remain uncertain as to whether the
human impact on the global environment
constitutes a geological level shift in planetary
history (see Zalasiewicz et al, 2008). One of the
key issues is that for the 'age of humans' to exist
geologically, it is necessary not only to show
that humans have changed the environment
(something that the fossil record for the Anthro-
pocene, which will include things ranging from
cities to an assemblage of domesticated animal
life, should demonstrate (
Economist
, 2011)), but
also to illustrate that humans actually changed
the ways in which the global environment operated
(this tends to be more difficult to discern from
the relatively short-term perspective we currently
have on the would-be Anthropocene). The Inter-
national Commission on Stratigraphy (which
essentially polices the official geological timeline
of the Earth) has established an official Work-
ing Group to explore the scientific credentials of
the Anthropocene (this group includes Paul
Crutzen). It will be this Commission that will
determine whether the Anthropocene is simply
a popular meme, which has spread among aca-
demics and commentators as a helpful term,
or a scientifically approved geological epoch (see
New York Times
, 2012).
While acknowledging these technical debates,
this volume is primarily interested in what the
processes of ecological change associated with
the Anthropocene mean for those who study
environmental issues. To these ends, whether
the collective wisdom of scientists eventually
determines that we are (or are not) living in
new geological times is not the most important
issue. The very fact that the International Com-
mission on Stratigraphy is considering the
Anthropocene's scientific validity suggests that
something profound has happened in human-
environmental relations. This volume provides an
introductory account of the role of human beings,
and associated social, economic and political
processes, in transforming the environment. This
book serves as an introduction on three counts: 1)
it introduces the nature and extent of the physical
changes human beings have caused to local and
global environmental systems; 2) it introduces
the different processes that appear to be driving
environmental transformation; and 3) it asks what
can be done, and what is being done, to address
human impacts on the natural environment.
One aspect of the debates that surround the
Anthropocene that is taken up by this volume
are its ethical implications (for a broader dis-
cussion of the ethics of the Anthropocene, see
Gibson-Graham and Roelvink, 2010). At one
level the very idea of the Anthropocene presents
an opportunity for humankind to collectively
reflect upon its environmental impacts and res-
ponsibilities. To these ends, many in the environ-
mental movement see the types of environmental
transformation that are associated with the
Anthropocene as a basis for reducing the demands
we place on the planet, to challenge the assumed
value of economic growth and to re-localize
our economies. At the other end of the ethical
spectrum are those who feel that the idea of
humans as intelligent agents of geological power
should be a spur to further and deeper inter-
ventions into our planetary ecosystem. For
example, in its recent feature on the Anthropocene,
The Economist
(
Economist
, 2011: 6) observed that
it was '[B]etter to embrace the Anthropocene's
potential as a revolution in the way the Earth
system works . . . than to try to retreat onto a
low-impact path that runs the risk of global
immiseration'.
The Economist
review claimed that
Visit the website of the Anthropocene
Working Group at:
uk/workinggroups/anthropocene/.
In addition to providing guidance on how
the notion of the Anthropocene can pass
from being an 'informal' to official geo-
logical era, the site also provides links to
related articles about the Anthropocene.
