Anthropocene
It’s the latest geological era and we’re it.
A group of pointy-headed European, Australian and American scientists hold that we’ve evolved ito a force of nature, and that the collective activities of all 6 billion of us render us a world-changing geo-physical phenomenon worthy of our own era. The Anthropocene. UPI:
PHOENIX, Sept. 24 (UPI) — A group of European, Australian and U.S. scientists say humans have pushed the Earth system beyond three of the planet’s biophysical thresholds.
The 29 scientists say the consequences of those actions might be catastrophic for large parts of the world.
The group says scientists have been warning for decades the explosion of human activity since the industrial revolution is pushing the Earth’s resources and natural systems to their limits. Now data confirm 6 billion people are capable of generating a global geophysical force the equivalent to some of the great forces of nature — just by going about their daily lives.
I dunno. I’m of a couple of minds on that. Clearly we have transformed vast swathes of the planet dramatically, not just in the last 200-odd years of the Industrial Revolution, but over the last 10,000 years since the agricultural one and resulting civilization and population growth. Dranatic change in Europe long predated the steam engine, and change in Asia, Africa and the Americas greatly predated the arrival of the evil Europeans. The hunter-gatherers have been no slouches at transforming their environment up to the present, either. I’ve always considered that we are a force of nature, and that fact counters a lot of the fashionable hand-wringing anthrophobia. In fact, as a human, I’m proud of our evolutionart success and dominance. That’s kind of the point, isn’t it? Sure, it can use a little tweaking here and there. We’re the smart monkeys, we learn as we go. But as a chest-thumping hominid, I like the sound of it. Anthropocene. Yeah … humans kick ass!
But this declaration of a geological era sounds suspiciously like a lot more global-warming prop, somewhat vain yet self-loathing anthropomorphism. Especially when you get to this bit:
That force has given rise to a new era — Anthropocene — in which human actions have become the main driver of global environmental change, the scientists said.
“On a finite planet, at some point, we will tip the vital resources we rely upon into irreversible decline if our consumption is not balanced with regenerative and sustainable activity,” said report co-author Sander van der Leeuw, director of the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University.
OK, blah blah blah, heard it all before. Now it’s got a fancy, scary scientific label, though I’m willing to bet it is still based on a lot of the same faulty, presumptive, contested and unsettled science.
Great news for Nobel Peace Laureate Al Gore. Now, he isn’t just battling stupid consumers, evil industrialists and short-sighted governments. Now he’s battling a fundamental anthroperversion of the very forces of nature!
Those guys can all fret and wail. I don’t care. I’m going to look past the petty politics and embrace this evolutionary development as a point of pride. We’re living in the Anthropocene, baby. Hominids rock!
In other important planet-saving news, greens want to be a pain in your ass. OK, that’s not exactly what it says. Washington Post: Environmentalists Seek to Wipe Out Plush Toilet Paper.
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Topics: science, warmalism, western civilization
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 12:36 pm on Thursday, September 24, 2009
7 Responses to “Anthropocene”
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September 24th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Well, here are all the gory details from the pointy-heads.
Meanwhile, when asked for comment, “The Earth” merely burped (at the
Yellowstone Supervolcano).
Take it away, Supreme Science Czar John Holdren. I’m sure you’ve got the “Final Solution.”
September 24th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
I’m with you, Hu. I’m guessing Gaia could give a flying …
September 24th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Geological era?!? On a timeline where the duration we have existed is invisible?!?
That we can influence the atmosphere in barely measurable ways is disputed, are are the hypothetical results of that influence. Otherwise, we have no influence on atmospheric currents, tectonic plates, vulcanism, magnetic forces, or any of the major forces. The algae in the ocean has more influence than we do.
The notion is absurd, so it must be political.
September 24th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Ha! Point jodetoad … I guess that makes us more like a massive asteroid slamming into earth. A great big massive flaming ball of 6 billion people, slamming into the planet. Something like that.
September 24th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
Why, Jules, funny you should mention our Earth Mother, Gaia. It seems that one of the 29 scientists, Timothy Lenton, is on good terms with “her”:
Review
Nature 394, 439-447 (30 July 1998) | doi:10.1038/28792
Gaia and natural selection
Timothy M. Lenton
Abstract
Evidence indicates that the Earth self-regulates at a state that is tolerated by life, but why should the organisms that leave the most descendants be the ones that contribute to regulating their planetary environment? The evolving Gaia theory focuses on the feedback mechanisms, stemming from naturally selected traits of organisms, that could generate such self-regulation.
My question, if “Gaia” doesn’t like global warming… ur… climate change why doesn’t “she” self regulate things back to “normal.”
September 24th, 2009 at 7:56 pm
That’s what I say. If Gaia has a problem, let her fix it. And if we’re a force of nature of geological proportions, then what’s the problem?
September 24th, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Toilet paper?
Marva Munson: “you mean to tell me you never one time suffered from piles? It’s the human condition, most humans anyway. Like that ball player said: world’s got two kinds of folks — them that’s got piles and them that’s gonna get ‘em.”
“The Ladykillers (2004)“