Many of you know that geologically, the time since the end of the last ice has has been known as the the "holocene." This is the cenozoic (newest life) era, setting us off from the mesozoic ("middle life"- also known as the age of the dinosaurs) and the paleocene ("old life"- the time before the dinosaurs when al other forms of life evolved). The cenozoic era is made up of various epochs, and before the holocene ("entirely recent life") there was, for example, the "pleistocene" (meaning "most recent," even though it isn't, actually) which is also known as the ice age, or, more properly, "ice ages." Now geologists are arguing that humans have so drastically altered the earth in such a short time that we have, in effect, stomped a giant footprint on the geological record, which will be evidenced in such things as core samples taken from polar ice fields, the sediments of rock and dirt that are being laid down currently, and the specimens that will eventually make their way in the fossil record, which will show a mass extinction event that was caused by a natural disaster: the industrial/capitalist global system that humanity has dreamed up. Welcome to the newest epoch: The "anthropocene."
2 comments:
I just had an interesting thought. By the time the Anthropocene is over, there will likely be no one left to label it.
Walsh says we've got to get used to nuclear power. Great idea! Just ask Japan!!
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