The Anthropocene Epoch has Arrived and 'We Are Responsible'...Heaven Help Us

 

Executive Director of the Australian National University's Climate Change Institute, Professor Will Steffen, takes us on a journey through the science measuring humanity's effect on the planet. Using tangible, real measures, Will shows us the profound change in the planet since the Industrial Revolution and argues that now, more than at any other time, humanity is the single most influential factor in global changes; so much so that we should recognize that now is the age of mankind - The Anthropocene  period ( Meaning: the age during which, the deleterious changes to the planet are due to man's influence). Though this name hasn't yet been officially adopted, a rising number of scientists agree it's time to wave goodbye to the Holocene period, and accept that we have entered the age of the human-shaped planet.

Though there is still vigorous debate over the fine details of the new epoch, the fact that it is happening is no longer in doubt. Substantial interdisciplinary evidence suggests that the planet is being dramatically sculpted by our species, and that much of the damage is already irreversible.

The biological evidence is particularly sobering. Humans have undeniably accelerated the global rate of extinction, and we reduce biodiversity wherever we go (which, unfortunately, is everywhere). Even the usually chipper David Attenborough is pessimistic on this point. “It's not possible to reverse the damage we've done,” he said in a Reddit AMA interview, earlier this year. “We are undoubtedly exterminating species at a speed which has never been known before.”
Indeed, humans are so invasive that we have managed to negatively influence habitats we haven't even explored. A recent study funded by the European Union found that trash has colonized the deepest reaches of the ocean. Researchers surveyed 32 locations in the Atlantic, Arctic Ocean, and Mediterranean Sea, and discovered human garbage in every single one.
Meanwhile, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch continues to grow, not to mention that every time an oil company messes up, dozens of local species end up endangered. Land environments have been almost entirely gobbled up by urban advancement, pushing several species into extinction and permanently altering their ecosystems.
According to environmental scientist Will Steffen, species are going extinct at a rate of 100 to even 1000 times the usual percentage, and the problem is only getting worse. “When humans look back, the Anthropocene era will probably represent one of the six biggest extinctions in our planet's history.”

This is all without getting into the real smoking gun of the new Anthropocene order: climate change. Humanity has been edging out species for thousands of years, but it appears we were only warming up for the final act. The cascade of changes brought by rising global temperatures includes the acidification of the oceans, advancing sea levels, habitat loss, extreme weather, resource depletion, and, there is every reason to think, other effects that have yet to rear their heads. The Earth will keep a record of our meddling, and it may well be a geological obituary.

There's a reason there is so much confusion and denial when it comes to confronting the Anthropocene age. The facts are overwhelming and depressing, as if an apocalyptic movie is unfolding before our eyes. The new era is here, whether we like it or not, but I suggest and hope that the human-sculpted planet doesn't necessarily have to be a cesspit of extinction and disaster. There's still a chance that we'll learn how to establish a sustainable civilization on Earth and even cede some of our territory back to other species. Sure, it's a rapidly shrinking chance, but given the alternative, which is a completely barren planet battered by ultra extreme weather and climate conditions,  it's worth our undivided attention. We live in hope.