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Art of the Monstrous: Burtynsky and the Anthropocene
Art of the Monstrous: Burtynsky and the Anthropocene The National Art Gallery in Ottawa currently hosts a sensational exhibition called “Anthropocene.” Edward Burtynsky and his associates Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier have created a multi-media mind-boggling representation of the transformation of the earth by humans. Their work has the shock-effect similar to the famous […]
Living in the Concretaceous Period
Living in the Concretaceous Period Scientists long ago determined that Earth had entered the Anthropocene period, based on a determination that humans were altering fundamental planetary parameters such as biodiversity and the chemistry of the atmosphere and oceans to the degree that it warranted an entirely new geological designation. Following another millennium of observation and […]
Culture and climate
Culture and climate My purpose is to show that if cultures are to end further acceleration of the climate change they are causing, then new ways of life must be found, which no longer cause it. Tinkering with improvements to our current ways of life is futile. We must each of us change how we […]
The Power of the Anthropocene
The Power of the Anthropocene Photo Source Doc Searls | CC BY 2.0 “So we are left with a stark choice: allow climate disruption to change everything about our world, or change pretty much everything about our economy to avoid that fate. But we need to be very clear: because of our decades of collective […]
Hothouse Earth
Hothouse Earth An interesting new study: “Trajectories of the Earth System in the Anthropocene,” Will Steffen, Johan Rockström et al, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Aug. 6, 2018 lays out the pathway for Earth entering a Hothouse Climate State. “Our planet is still in danger of becoming a ‘Hothouse’ Earth despite our […]
Climate change in the Anthropocene: An unstoppable drive to Hothouse Earth?
Climate change in the Anthropocene: An unstoppable drive to Hothouse Earth? Can the global climate be stabilized before runaway change creates conditions that are too hot for human civilization and deadly for most species? Leading Earth System scientists warn: “The Earth System may be approaching a planetary threshold that could lock in a continuing rapid […]
Time for politicians to get real about the anthropocene
Time for politicians to get real about the anthropocene Hurricane Maria wreaks havoc in Puerto Rico. We are currently living through an era of global environmental collapse. Resources are being consumed at around 1.5 times the Earth’s ability to regenerate them. The continued reliance on carbon to power our economies means that we are highly […]
The Anthropocene’s Birthday, or the Birth-Year of Human-Accelerated Climate Change
The Anthropocene’s Birthday, or the Birth-Year of Human-Accelerated Climate Change Scientists have found a major spike in the amount of Carbon-14 within the tree rings of “The Loneliest Tree In The World,” which ring corresponds to October-December 1965. This tree is a Sitka Spruce, a species from the American Northwest (and into Canada) that was […]
Protagoras and the Anthropocene: Can man still be the measure of all things?
Protagoras and the Anthropocene: Can man still be the measure of all things? The ancient Greek philosopher Protagoras is famous for his saying that man is the measure of all things. Though we don’t know much about Protagoras or his written work except for quotations appearing in other ancient works, the general view is that […]
Myth and dystopia in the Anthropocene
Myth and dystopia in the Anthropocene The sleeping ice giants of Antarctica are stirring. Will we wake up before they devour us? Calving front of the Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina. Credit: Flickr/Etienne Berthier, Université de Toulouse. CC-BY-2.0. In the autumn of 1913, Karl Jung dreamt of a monstrous flood of yellow waves cascading down […]
What Does It Mean to Live in the Age of the Anthropocene?
What Does It Mean to Live in the Age of the Anthropocene? Photo by possan | CC BY 2.0 It’s another day in the age of the Anthropocene where a global game of musical chairs continues to play out. As humans continue to plunder and pillage the earth in a global economy that thrives on […]
Beyond the Footprint
Beyond the Footprint Ed. note: This piece is an excerpt from the new e-book entitled:Ecological Handprints: Breakthrough Innovations in the Developing World A farmer charges his cell phone with solar panels in the Aravilli hills, Udaipur District, India. | Credit: Mark Katzman The great challenge of the twenty-first century is to raise people everywhere to a decent standard of living […]
Going beyond the “ecological turn” in the humanities
Going beyond the “ecological turn” in the humanities Talk about the Anthropocene often has a tendency to rely on apolitical and colonialist assumptions. But the turn to ecology in the humanities will require acknowledging—and, more importantly, supporting—those peoples who have never turned their back on ‘ecology’ in the first place. Photo by Aaron Vasintjan. There’s […]
Woodlot Management in the Anthropocene: Part Three
Woodlot Management in the Anthropocene: Part Three “A constructive and careful handling of the resources of the earth is impossible except on the basis of large co-operation and of association for mutual welfare.” — Liberty Hyde Bailey, The Holy Earth Winged Elm Farm has approximately 40 acres of hardwoods, and last year I posted a couple […]
Leaving Our Children Nothing
Leaving Our Children Nothing Our generation has a unique opportunity. If we set our minds to it, we could be the first in human history to leave our children nothing: no greenhouse-gas emissions, no poverty, and no biodiversity loss. That is the course that world leaders set when they met at the United Nations in […]
