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About our Anthropocene news
Latest news on the Anthropocene, a term that describes a new geological epoch in which humans have become the dominant force shaping Earth’s climate and ecosystems. The Anthropocene is not an official unit of geologic time, but it is used to mark the period when human activity started to have a significant impact on the planet, especially since the industrial revolution.
The word Anthropocene is derived from the Greek words anthropo, for “man,” and cene for “new,” coined and made popular by biologist Eugene Stormer and chemist Paul Crutzen in 2000. Scientists still debate whether the Anthropocene is different from the Holocene, the current epoch that began 11,700 years ago after the last major ice age, and when exactly it began.
Some of the proposed markers for the start of the Anthropocene are:
- The beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century, when humans began to use fossil fuels and emit greenhouse gases on a large scale.
- The first atomic bomb test in 1945, which left a global signature of radioactive isotopes in the soil and atmosphere.
- The Great Acceleration in 1950, when human population, consumption, and environmental impacts increased exponentially.
Some of the evidence for the Anthropocene are:
- The rise of global average temperature by about 1.2°C since pre-industrial times, causing melting of ice sheets, sea level rise, and extreme weather events.
- The increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration by about 50% since pre-industrial times, reaching over 400 parts per million in 2013.
- The acidification of the oceans by about 30% since pre-industrial times, affecting marine life and coral reefs.
- The loss of biodiversity and habitat due to deforestation, agriculture, urbanization, pollution, overexploitation, and invasive species.
- The alteration of biogeochemical cycles of nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and other elements by human activities such as fertilizer use, fossil fuel combustion, and mining.
- The creation of novel materials and substances such as plastics, synthetic chemicals, and nanoparticles that are widely dispersed in the environment.