I would vote to accept and implement the new epoch to the calendar. I also agree that after WW2 would be a good starting point. After the Earth population more than doubled in the 50-year time span. The amount of energy required more than tripled (estimate from figure 1 – Steffen). Therefore, the amount of bad chemicals added to the atmosphere followed suit. That’s why early scientists began seeing the change in climate. Also, Wilson (From Kolbert “Enter the Anthropocene”) calculates that: “the biomass produced by humans has multiplied by nearly 100 times than that of any other large animal species that has ever walked on Earth.” The 1940s – 60s are also when humans began claiming larger and larger cities. With this influx of humans, the demand of timber and food skyrocketed. This lead to large number of trees to be cut down for agriculture and deforestation ran rampant. With less trees and plants in general, natures “carbon dioxide cleaners” had more work to do with less plants.
This puts our attempts to redirect climate change at a standstill. If someone is more concerned with conforming to a group than to do something about climate change, nothing will end up happening. I would start talking to people to see what their point of views are. From there I would decide how to continue forward or if I even should. Some people don’t like to change their minds with a simple conversation. In my experience, the best way to convince someone of something is to speak to them with respect and make it a pleasant conversation. The best thing you can do, is make that person walk away thinking about your point of view.
I have enjoyed reading your post on this weeks material and you conveyed your ideas clearly. I definitely would agree with you on the implementation of the new epoch as well as the time period in which you believe it started. You have provided great evidence exemplifying the massive growth in population, consumption, production and urban living which burst in this time and has led to the destruction of many parts of our planet. All of these developments and aspects of modern societies surely have accelerated the stress we put on our natural resources and systems we need to survive on earth. Also you did a great job summarizing the ideas in the last article as well as giving your opinion on how to foster better conversations between people with differing views. Your concluding idea that having a “pleasant” conversation instead of say an extremely high tensioned, argumentative one certainly will leave both participants much more likely to keep thinking and evaluating the points made throughout.
I too enjoyed your post and agree with you regarding the time frame for beginning the proposed Anthropocene epoch. You sourced a lot of good material that supports your claim. I especially think that the doubling of the population as well as industrialization are massive factors, and contributed much more to the change in climate than the plowing of the trees to plant crops 10,000 years ago did. Its much more reasonable in my opinion if you want global understanding and acceptance of the Anthropocene epoch that you implement it around the 1940s as people will have a difficult time accepting it if climate change is blamed on farmers fields 10,000 years ago. Great post.
I also agreed with your take on this weeks blog. We need to make the new epoch an actual implemented law. Reading your article was easy for me because you worded everything really well and your sources were used really well in your paper. With the massive population of humans on this earth, we are not helping the environment by over population and destruction of eco-systems to build cities and man made structures. As we cut down more trees in the Amazon, the worse our air pollution is going to get because of how trees natural clean the air. We need to vote in the new epoch to help us and the future of this planet.