It’s official. The Anthropocene Epoch has replaced the Holocene Era, which began about 11,700 years ago and contained the climate and conditions which allowed complex human civilizations to form.
The Anthropocene Era is one which humans themselves have changed the planet. Since 2009 an Anthropocene Working Group has been discussing when and how the earth has changed and who or what is responsible for the change. The group has agreed that the new epoch began in the mid-20th century, when globalization, industrialization, and energy consumption began accelerating. That is, in other words, my lifetime.
This summer’s changes in climate seem to show that human effects are accelerating. This is both amazing and frightening.
When we have swallow nests on our porch, the parents put their butts over the edge and crap outside the nest. Evidently swallows are smarter than humans.
For the full story on the labeling, see Raymond Zhong, “Is This the Epoch of Man? Evidence Is at the Bottom of a Canadian Lake,” New York Times, (July 12, 2023), p. A9.
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ReplyDeleteAfter delivering 60 pieces of computer equipment working 10-hour days over the period of a week in 100-degree airplane hangars, I'll do just about anything if we could get some legislation to fight climate change.
ReplyDeleteI'm kidding, of course. I was always for legislation for fighting climate change.