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Myths about the Anthropocene
These ten misconceptions underplay how much we have altered the global environment and undermine the new perspective we need to deal with a drastically changed world
All day, scientists had presented data that showed how the human-caused changes in climate, chemical cycles and biology of recent decades were jarringly different from the relative stability of the Holocene, the geological epoch that began 11,700 years prior. Exasperated, Crutzen finally broke into the discussion: “We aren’t in the Holocene anymore, we’re in … the Anthropocene!” The improvised term quickly caught fire as a foundational concept among earth scientists, and in the last decade the word has proliferated through other sciences, the arts, humanities and popular culture. Colin WatersBy proposing a formal, geologically defined Anthropocene epoch, the working group intended to provide a precise definition for this recent, large, permanent and rapid transition in Earth’s physical, chemical and biological systems.
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