Embracing the Anthropocene...

"Instead of one Earth Day per year, there will be 364. Once a year, we’ll have an Anti-Earth-Day and allow ourselves to destroy habitats, hunt rare animals, mess with the climate and put toxins in the water. That would act as a strange reminder of the early Anthropocene."

The above quote comes from an interview in the New Scientist (2015) with Christian Schwägerl, a journalist and biologist who has recently published a book on the Anthropocene*. Schwägerl (2015) has an interesting perspective on the proposed geologic epoch, viewing it as a positive opportunity to take on a global collective responsibility in determining the future for our planet. Though recognising the concepts and arguments for the Anthropocene provides the chance to adopt a 'global stewardship' for the planet, Schwägerl (2015) also recognises the risk that I have mentioned in some earlier posts: the epoch could be taken as a way of promoting and encouraging human ownership and control over Earth Systems.

The new book by Christian Schwägerl (2014).
A very holistic and critical in-depth insight
into the Anthropocene. (Source)

How can we make the Anthropocene positive?

Firstly, it is obvious that we need to stop harbouring anthropocentric viewpoints (the belief that humans are the most significant species on Earth), and focus more on long-term goals for the future of humanity and all other life on the planet. An idea that has been toyed with in the academic literature is to market all ecosystems with a monetary value (see Costanza et al 1997). Could this be a way to encourage the conservation and protection of vulnerable and significant ecosystems in a capitalist-dominated economy?

Secondly, we must modify our social and cultural practices such that we show gratitude for our planet (Schwägerl 2015). This is where the quote at the top of this post comes into play. What if we appreciated Earth for the entire 364 days of the year, and carried out the practices we see today (hunt endangered species, pollute water sources, tear down entire rainforests, and alter the atmosphere) in just one 24-hour period? The concept is quite utopian in the current social climate, and also scarily reminds me of the sci-fi horror film, 'The Purge', where for 12 hours in one day of the year, ALL crimes become legal. Changing social norms to ones where humans would whole-heartedly appreciate and protect the planet wouldn't just occur overnight, it would take serious time, effort and powerful people to get the ball rolling.

How do we drive the economy away from fossil fuels?

In Schwägerl's new book (2014) he creates an interesting fictional future scenario. Imagine that China, one of the world's leading economies, becomes home to an extremely influential green movement which forces global governments to act. These fictional protests from China influence an American band to write a viral song called 'Kill the Future', which causes 'panarchists' to remove items from people's shopping trolleys and replace them on the shelves (encouraging less consumption). Supposedly, from a series of events stemming from this initial green movement, the billions of pounds in subsidies in fossil fuels would be diverted to renewable energies and technologies. The change that needs to take place in reality is convincing the global population that we can change our behaviour and actions, and this can change the world for the better (Graham-Leigh 2015).

Getting out of "Holocene thinking"...

In the interview, Schwägerl (2015) argues we should embrace the Anthropocene, and stop seeing the environment as a separate entity from humans. He claims we currently take the environment for granted, using it as a dumping ground for our waste, and a source to exploit for materials and food amongst other things. In his book, Schwägerl (2014) adopts the term 'invironment' as opposed to 'environment' in the Anthropocene as a way to show our inherent connection with nature and the environment. I'm not sure if it'll catch on as a term in reality, but it's a nice way to highlight that in the Anthropocene we should see the 'outside world' of nature as an inseparable connection to humanity.

The human race boasts incredible knowledge, scientists, artists, leaders, and cultural influences. With the state of our current technology and understanding of the planet, why shouldn't it be plausible for humans to overcome short-term planning mindsets and economic mismanagement (Graham-Leigh 2015)? One day in the future, will we be able to see in the rocks, archaeological artefacts, and palaeoclimatic proxies, that humans turned the Anthropocene from a story of exploitation and environmental damage, to one of cooperation, innovation, and humility? I guess only time will tell...

* The book by Schwägerl (2014), 'The Anthropocene: The Human Era and How It Shapes Our Planet', does not have an online copy at the moment, but from reading snippets from the hardback version I can tell you it is well worth a read, with a foreword by Paul Crutzen himself! You can read the first few pages online here if you're interested.