Scientists
are calling for the official designation of a new earth epoch: the
Anthropocene. Addressing the 'Planet under Pressure' gathering in London, they
say one species has left an indelible mark.
Scientists
are pushing to officially change the name of the current geological epoch, as
the world prepares to take stock of its 20-year record of addressing global
environmental problems.
Experts say
designating the arrival of the 'Anthropocene,' or age of man, would capture the
nature and extent of changes on the planet, and could spark a shift in how
humanity thinks of its presence on Earth.
Pointing to
climate change, dwindling fish stocks, continued deforestation, rapid species
decline, and human population growth, Erle Ellis, an ecologist at the
University of Maryland, said the vast majority of ecosystems on the planet now
reflect the presence of people.
We are
already past "a human-systems tipping point" where we should be
wondering whether we are in the Anthropocene or not, Ellis said.
In future,
he said, the evidence for the Anthropocene will be apparent in the
sedimentation record: in the rapid increase in carbon deposits, in traces of
cities, and the fossils of domesticated animals.
Welcome to
the Anthropocene
 |
| The Holocene has been conducive to farming |
The new
name would signal the passing of the Holocene, the 12,000 year stretch of
history distinguished by the end of the last ice age and the relative
stabilization of sea levels.
Scientists hope it will also signal a
psychological break.
"We
are currently accelerating into a new era", said Will Steffen, head of the
Climate Change Institute at the Australian National University. An era, he
added, that won't be as stable as the last, which gave rise to farming and
civilization.
Anthony
Giddens, the British political scientist known for his holistic view of
societies, described the Anthopocene as a "runaway world" in which we
have unleashed processes more powerful than our attempts to control them.
The term
isn't new. Since the atmospheric chemist
Paul Crutzen popularized the word in 2000, the Anthropocene has increasingly
come to be accepted as an unofficial tag in scientific circles.
The
International Commission on Stratigraphy is considering whether to formally
recognize that we have entered the new period and is expected to reach a
decision in 2016.
But that
may be too late for some scientists.
Sparking a
shift
 |
| Paul Crutzen helped popularize the term Anthropocene in 2000 |
Some 2800
experts from around the world met in London this week for 'Planet under
Pressure,' a conference that hopes to steer the direction of this year's Rio
+20 summit – the 20-year follow-up to the Rio Earth Summit of 1992.
The experts
discussed ways to break the lack of urgency in tackling global environmental
problems.
According
to policy documents drawn up by the conference organizers, this means looking
at human wellbeing and development in a different way from simply measuring
GDP.
It also
means creating business models that incorporate the value of ecosystem services
like crop pollination and purification of water and air: services that are not
typically captured by GDP, but face pressure from economic growth.
One such
effort, called Future Earth, aims to bring together environmental and social
research groups under one banner.
"This
isn't about moving the deck chairs on the Titanic," said Diana Liverman,
expert for the Environmental Change Institute.
Future
Earth, said the organizers, is about connecting scientists from different
fields and at least three countries per project to investigate what kind of era
the Anthropocene is going to be. It should also provide solutions for
mitigating or adapting to its rougher effects.
Ecologist
Erle Ellis said humans have a choice of piloting "a good
Anthropocene" or "managing a series of crises."
Author:
Robin Powell
Editor:
Nathan Witkop
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