Geology and the Anthropocene

Bibliographic Data

ID3314718
AuthorsJ Zalasiewicz (0000-0002-3220-4855, University of Leicester), Colin N Waters (0000-0001-6113-8730, British Geological Survey)
Year2016
Volume90
Issue350
Pages512-514
Publication date2016-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAntiquity (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0003-598X • E-ISSN: 1745-1744
PublisherAntiquity Publications (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.15184/aqy.2016.42
OpenAlexW2320259674
LanguageEN
Citations received6

It is useful to have Todd Braje's perspective on the Anthropocene. As he states, it is a concept that has spread widely and that has had various interpretations (within not just the sciences, but the arts and humanities too) in the 15 years since Paul Crutzen and Eugene Stoermer proposed the term (Crutzen & Stoermer 2000). Various suggestions are made in Braje's paper: perhaps foremost is that the Anthropocene should be retained as a loosely defined term to focus on the nature and effect of human activities, to be a 'rallying cry' for better planetary stewardship. He suggests, indeed, that precise characterisation and formalisation as a stratigraphic unit may hinder such use, causing (for instance) all humans-rather than specific socio-economic groups-to be held equally responsible for the degradation of planetary systems

Anthropocene · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Perspective (graphical) · Political science · Stewardship (theology) · Term (time) · The arts · Computer Science · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Global Energy and Sustainability Research · History · Marine and environmental studies · Philosophy