The anthropocene debate hinges to a large extent on how epochs are defined, and scientists now face the unprecedented task of defining an epoch at its genesis rather than millions of years after its end. Castree argues that the severity of human impact on the Earth, indicative of the Anthropocene is already stratigraphically evident in radionuclides from atomic bombs, micro particles of plastic and hydrocarbons from fossil fuels. He also argues that these effects, because of their extremity and the feedback’s triggered between systems, will be pervasive for thousands of years, causing environmental systems to vastly diverge from their natural behavior. (Castree, 2014) Ocean warming, sea level rise and acidification will continue for thousands
Anthropocene is a term used to describe earth’s history including when humans dominated a majority of natural processes globally. Anthropocence was a term used throughout the article to discuss the impact humankind had on the environment that caused many changes that had a negative impact over many years. Another term used was anthrones, the human footprint, which describes how much human kind has made lasting impassions on the earth. These terms have made me come to the realization anthropology operates at the crossroads of social and physical sciences, along with humanities to examine the diversity of humankind across many cultures and time.
began to affect the world’s climate, through pollution and the contamination of the world. Perez
In “Wells Fargo Pays $1 Billion to Federal Regulators” article, the author wanted to tell that the bank Wells Fargo forced to the customers to pay the mortgage interest and they also forced customers to buy the unnecessary auto insurance policy. Moreover, Wells Fargo also creates fake accounts in customers’ name. For these several unlawful acts, this bank has been charged multiple times by Federal Regulators. There are 100 open investigations under this bank name.
The exact timing of the first settlers to North America has been debated for several years. Many researchers believe the early settlers to have arrived in the range of 10,000 to 15,000 years ago (Schultz, 2013). Native Americans were the first to inhabit the land that would eventually be deemed the United States. The groups were segregated into three different periods and were known to be the Paleo-Indian period, Archaic period, and the pre-Columbian period (Schultz, 2013).
Defining the Anthropocene Through Reason In the article “Defining the Anthropocene,” geologists Lewis and Maslin constrain the plausible start dates of the Anthropocene to reveal the importance of human actions on nature. Before Lewis and Maslin, several scientists, environmentalists, and historians had written on the history and the future impact of the Anthropocene; however, none had concluded on a start date to this new epoch of human-nature interaction. Through a geologists perspective Lewis and Maslin aim to define the beginning of the Anthropocene through geological evidence.
Has Earth entered into a new geologic epoch, characterized by human influences? A recent study, spear-headed by the British Geological Survey, has come to the conclusion that man’s global impact has become distinct enough to end the Holocene and effectively begin the Anthropocene. Published in Science, the study identifies how man’s impact on our oceans, resources, climate, and vegetation has altered the sedimentary makeup of the planet. Massive species invasions, increased rates of extinction, genetically modified plants, redistributed metals, sediment, hydrocarbons, fossils, increased levels of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus all combine to create signals that geologists interpret to denote a break in the Holocene
Though, stratigraphic conventions presently place the modern world in the Holocene epoch, it is unlikely this classification persists for much longer. As human environmental impacts continue to grow exponentially, it has become increasingly obvious that mankind is no longer a captive participant in the global ecosystem. Instead, throwing off the shackles of environmental determinism, humans have fundamentally altered their relationship with nature, becoming agents of environmental change unlike any the world has witnessed before. This new era, defined by our environmental actions, christened the “Anthropocene,” has become progressively more popular since its inception in the late 1800s. Yet, despite its pervasiveness in today’s scientific literature,
Within the pro-choice world there are many issues that are discussed like abortion, the instant where life begins and the use of contraceptives. This article will focus on not only the issue of using of contraceptives, but specifically the distribution of oral contraceptives (“the pill”) to teenage girls without their parent’s consent.
The United States currently has a population of 322,754,332 and counting. Each individual does not have the same story, the identical background, or related beliefs and ideas. Therefore, I will answer why we have reached this point with how could we not have reached this point? With the monstrous amount of different cultures, it was inevitable that they would interact and engage despite the differences amongst them. With this interaction, there is also no way to avoid issues between the cultures. With a variety of beliefs and ideas, there will always be disagreements and arguments on which ones are "correct." Too many people are concerned with this idea of having only one "right" way of thinking and teaching this to the future generations.
The Anthropocene additionally enables us to rethink the connection amongst people and whatever is left of the normal world. Regardless of when it started, the idea of the Anthropocene is noteworthy. It features the size of our effect on Earth. By characterizing another epoch, we are announcing that the effect of our activities is worldwide and irreversible. It enables us to join various talks in regards to the condition of the planet, from environmental change to loss of biodiversity to natural degradation, by distinguishing the one thing they have in like manner; they have all been influenced by human impact.
Many people have even become extremely proficient in dealing with them. However, being able to deal in large numbers and understanding what they truly mean are two entirely different things. Human being experience an extreme cognitive dissonance between the two. The difference between 1,000,000,000 and 100,000,000 years may not look like much to the average person’s eye, but that difference is the difference between running a marathon, something a human being can reasonably accomplish in a day, to running from Stony Brook to Rochester, something which would take days to accomplish. The difference between a million seconds and a billion seconds is almost 32 years. Our place in the history of the planet, and the Anthropocene’s context in our own history can only really be understood in the context of extremely large numbers. Through a better understanding of large numbers and the geological timescale, the
Finney and Edwards raise concerns over this component of the Anthropocene. The emphasis on the beginning of the Anthropocene ignores the geological strata, which is a major component to its validity as an official epoch. According to Finney and Edwards, the Anthropocene overly emphasizes the beginning of this potential epoch, not its contents. The focus on the start leads to “the opinion that geological time scales are defined solely by their beginnings” (Finney and Edwards, 7). According to the AWG, the suggested start for the Anthropocene is 1945 (Finney and Edwards, 7). An indicator for this date is “the human human-caused atomic detonations” that resulted in the spread of atomic radiation across the planet (Zalasiewicz et al., 2230). In defining the Anthropocene based on its cause and date, and using the definition as grounds for justification as a geological time unit is where Finney and Edwards find fault. Also, the core of the concept centers at being a human caused event, which can be used to socially and politically sway
Since before the industrial evolutions humans have been pumping green house gasses—carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons— into the atmosphere however, it wasn’t until recently that the amounts being produced are shoving the Earth into a sixth extinction. While the causes of this upcoming extinction are constantly debated on it has earned itself the name Holocene extinction. This name is derived from the theory that humans are the main contributors to this extinction. To investigate the cause Elizabeth Kolbert, and American journalist and professor at Williams College, took the world on a wild and saddening journey on the human contribution to this looming extinction in her novel, The Sixth Extinction; An Unnatural History. Not only does Kolbert’s book explain how humans have contributed to global warming and its effects on life on land but also ocean acidification and how life under the sea has changed over the years.
Humanity is confronted by multiple environmental challenges which threaten to undermine the advances in health achieved over recent decades. The Rockefeller Foundation/Lancet Commission on Planetary Health showed how climate change, loss of biodiversity, land use change, ocean acidification and overfishing, nitrogen and phosphorus loading and environmental pollution more generally all have the potential to adversely affect health through a range of pathways1. A recent joint publication by WHO and Convention on Biological Diversity articulated the myriad connections between biodiversity and health and the threats to both posed by environmental change2. The dramatic changes in the global environment have led many scientists to conclude that we are living in a new geological epoch – the Anthropocene – in which the activities of one species – homo sapiens -have become the dominant driving force transforming the Earth’s natural systems3. These natural systems provide food, clean water and air and modulate the global temperature within limits in which humanity has been able to flourish for around 11,500 years during the preceding Holocene epoch.
Waite and Gallagher also discuss the benefits that marriage gives to couples. Including the financial benefits, in that through specialization and by sharing incomes getting married boosts standard of living by thirty percent and this benefit is not incurred by cohabitating, as those who cohabitate do not share as much and are less committed to the wellbeing of their partner. In addition to the financial benefits, they also discuss the emotional benefits of knowing you have someone who loves you and who would take care of you. Children similarly benefit from having married parents as there are more financial resources available to help take care of them and they get to spend more time with at least one parent.