If I was put on the International Commission of Stratigraphy, I would most likely vote in favor of the Anthropocene epoch. I agree with Crutzen, the man who coined the term, in that the officialization of the term would be another wake up call to the problems that climate change is bringing (Kolbert 4). I also believe that there must be a term that describes this era of climate change. This is best explained in Malm’s text when he describes the Anthropocene epoch as the era where humankind is becoming the new geological force that is transforming the planet due the excessive burning of coal, oil, and natural gas (Malm 1). I believe it should begin with the industrial revolution because this is when the excessive CO2 emissions begin to happen. It is also a social paradigm shift that causes us to rely on the burning of these fuels.
The fact that people’s views on climate change are so easily clouded makes it very difficult to create and start a paradigm shift that is required to switch our society over to a renewable resource dependency rather than a fossil fuel dependent society. Due to this inability to convert society, we are at a stalemate with ourselves as the problems just get worse and worse with time. Dr. Cathy Whitlock shows the clear data over time and is able to show farmers the long and short term effects of climate change. I think that her strategy is very good and is able to give the people facts that they should know. From the feedback she has gotten, it seems to be working very well.