Trying to document whether “human activities” (where “human” means capitalist) have affected the planet to such an extent that a “new epoch” can be defined for it, geologists (and perhaps not only them…) reached rather contradictory results. A 2018 study supported that “yes, we can name this new epoch the Anthropocene” – having as main evidence the so-called loneliest tree on the planet. It is a tree on Campbell Island, about 200 kilometers north of New Zealand, which has incorporated radioactive traces from nuclear weapons tests conducted there in the 1950s and 1960s into its trunk. This incorporation signifies (according to Anthropocene defenders) the change in the planet’s “metabolism.”
The idea of the Anthropocene is slightly older, from the first decade of the 21st century. And it goes hand in hand with the idea of (central) anthropogenic climate change. According to this approach, the Anthropocene began in 1965 – thus relating directly and closely to the “maturation” of the 2nd industrial revolution.
However, a month ago the 24 members of the executive committee of the “International Union of Geological Sciences” decided by majority that the claim for a new phase of geological evolution since the mid-20th century onwards is not substantiated; that consequently the term “Anthropocene” is not accepted; and that the planet remains in its Holocene period, which the branch considers to have begun approximately 11,700 years ago. It should be noted that the Holocene’s main characteristic is the evolution of the human species, encompassing the entirety of known human history, from the invention of writing to the present day. But as such, the Holocene is not suitable for specific uses…
The president and vice president of the executive secretariat were outvoted, and they continue to insist. Perhaps they will ultimately be vindicated (only changing the timelines) if some “philanthropist” manages to wrap the planet with some shading material so that the sun doesn’t hit us too hard… – for our own good, of course…