Is it time to embrace Anthropocene?

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 How has learning World History this summer grown your ability to understand or appreciate the article?

First of all the article written by Chakravarthi called “Is it time to embrace Anthropocene?” talks about the evident changes that Earth has been having during the last years. Chakravarthi explains that Earth is living in the epoch called Holocene “a geological epoch that gave us 12 millennia of relatively stable climate.” (Chakravarthi, 2020), but due extreme changes “the acceleration of deforestation, increased carbon emissions, and the rise in global temperature levels have put human beings at the helm of earth’s natural trajectory and given them the power to steer the future of our world in another direction.”(Chakravarthi, 2020). All these changes are summarized in what Chakravarthi suggest should be called the Anthropocene epoch. 

This particular article has made me understand that everything we do today may have repercussions in the future. In the case of climate change, the consequences we see are not from yesterday's actions, but rather all this problem began millions of years ago. According to Chakravarthi (2020), “Since the 20th century, the acceleration of deforestation, the increase in carbon emissions and the increase in global temperature levels have put humans at the forefront of the natural path of Earth and has given them the power to direct the future of our world in another direction.” Unfortunately this is true and thanks to history we can remember that human beings have been the main cause of the damage that our planet reflects. We could say that the Earth damaging began more than 10,000 years ago from the beginning of agriculture and domestication. The book Ways of the world says “Among the most revolutionary aspects of the age of agriculture was a new relationship between humankind and other living things, for now men and women were not simply using what they found in nature but actively changing nature as well.” (Strayer, pag 27). We can also add population growth thanks to the fact that people had the resources to survive longer and a better type of life. What was one time called "intensification" (Strayer, 28), which gave us more resources for less work, today is charging us with natural misfortunes, and deaths because of them. For many years our planet has given us the necessary sustenance to live and develop. Unfortunately, in the present we can see that human beings have abused these resources, so we are already seeing the consequences of this misuse.

What was interesting in this article was the proposal to accept the Anthropocene epoch as a new epoch that would help us change our future. Chakravarthi (2020) says “But what sets the Anthropocene apart is not its timeline or its signals. The Anthropocene is a paradigm shift in the human mindset. It is a school of thought that rips apart the delusion of privilege human beings enjoy being at the top of the food chain”. Although the idea is very difficult to accept because there are still people who do not believe in climate change, we should take more seriously what is happening around us. According to Chakravarthi “a study reports over 2,000 deaths in India in just one year because of floods, heat waves, and climate-induced catastrophes. And the best thing about the Anthropocene epoch is not only to demonstrate that the Earth is living in another era, but it also helps us to create awareness regarding the lack of responsibility that human beings have had throughout history. Chakravarthi (2020) says “though the Anthropocene may or may not have officially begun, it is a necessary shift in our approach to deal with the issues on our planet. Unless we resolve to preserve the many species, processes, and biodiversity that make up our earth, we may not live to see a safe future for generations yet to come”. Natural disasters are very evident, now we just need to create more awareness and with it we will certainly manage to make future changes.

It is not certain if the ice ages of yore were more or less harsh than the changes we see today. What I can think about is that some positive change had to have happened after each catastrophe, which has given way to the era in which we live today. If it was possible to survive in the past, it is possibly a sign that we have the opportunity for change.


Sources

Diplomat, G. C. (2020, February 12). Is It Time to Embrace the Anthropocene? Retrieved from https://thediplomat.com/2020/02/is-it-time-to-embrace-the-anthropocene/


Strayer, R. W., & Nelson, E. (2019). Ways of the world: A brief global history with sources. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins.

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