If I had a vote on the commission to either accept or reject adding the Anthropocene to the geological calendar, I would most likely accept. While many geologists disagree that it should be accepted because it lacks geological evidence, many of the scientists who do agree make valid points. Humans have been the only species to have a direct influence on climate change of the planet, and have caused major changes in our atmosphere since the use of coal started. Our actions have caused hundred of species to go extinct and land all over the world to be destroyed causing more levels of Co2 to rise in the atmosphere. While there may not be geological evidence at the moment, there definitely will be in the future, so what is the point of waiting to assign this time period if we have already started it. Crutzen makes a valid point when he says, “What I hope, is that the term ‘Anthropocene’ will be a warning to the world”, and having this term be assigned to an actual time period caused by humans may influence how we protect our environment in the future.
In Dan Kahan’s article, he states that the former congressman Bob Inglis lost his job because he petitioned for congress to take action on climate change in South Carolina. This example answers the question on how this affects our ability to develop solutions to climate change because people will always have a more social standpoint than a scientific one when it comes to climate change. It will always be hard to change people’s views on climate change if they care more about their social image, because if they changed their view they may face negative repercussions from their peers.