Human or Earth history?

When you think of the Anthropocene, what comes to mind? Do you envisage fossil fuel power stations, industrialisation, exponentially growing human populations, atomic bombs, globalisation and economic expansion? Or, do you picture the human-induced changes to Earth's atmosphere, sedimentary layers, and stratigraphic composition?

If you thought more along the lines of the first description, it may be that you (probably unintentionally) perceive the Anthropocene more as a unit of human history than Earth history. We humans have historically divided blocks of time into different named periods, making communication and analysis easier (Edwards 2015). Take for example the Victorian era, precisely defined by the reign of England's Queen Victoria (1837-1901) (Edwards 2015). Human divided time periods can also be based on stages of cultural development, such as the Bronze Age, which does not have a specific start and end date as it depends on the place and specific civilisation's development (Edwards 2015). Contrastingly, the Geologic Time Scale relates to stratigraphic rock records, correlating to chronostratigraphic units of time. Does this informality make the Victorian era or Bronze Age any less important in human development? No. But it does make them units of human history, and not Earth history.

The Anthropocene: a unit of human history, or Earth history? (Source)

Crucially, we must also decide if the Anthropocene is a recently historic unit of time, or if it is instead an idea for a future unit of time (Finney 2014). The ICS, who create and decide on units for the International Chronostratigraphic Chart (ICC), do not postulate for the future, they assess the stratigraphic record which exists today. Some arguments within the Anthropocene discourse often follow a line of "Oh, but future geologists will look back in millions of years and see chemicals, plastics and atomic fallout in the strata"...have we forgotten that the ICS does NOT consider what might make future Earth History? That is not the way it works. There is no predefined geologic record for the future. If the Anthropocene will be more significant in the future, then that is when it should be classified and formally ratified. Having said that, is the Anthropocene such a profound concept that the unit of time should no longer conform to traditional, predefined time spans and standards as set out in the ICS Stratigraphic Guide?

As Finney (2014) has argued, human-induced impacts on Earth Systems are just starting to be recorded in sediments, but we cannot be sure that a significant and unique sedimentary signal will assemble. Can we really justify a profound change in the ICC and GTS, one which could end our current Holocene interglacial epoch, based upon potential projections and hypothesising of what the future might show us, considering there currently seems to be a lack of consensus based on the past? Finney (2014) also raises an interesting point (once which I had not considered until now), that our precise human observations and measurements are those that would be used for studying human-induced impacts, as opposed to looking in stratigraphic records for information. The stratigraphy for the Anthropocene looks pretty bare in comparison to the multitude of events which humans have observed and recorded over recent history (Finney 2014). 

Finally, I must address the elephant in the room when it comes to the whole concept of the Anthropocene. Are we being a little anthropocentric, assigning an interval of Earth History to our human existence on the planet? Why must we hastily define the Anthropocene as a formal unit of geological history, when its use may be just as powerful to the global population as an informal term? I believe that recognising that we are in the "Anthropocene" (whatever that may mean to you) could go one of two ways. It will either be a huge wake up call, alerting politicians and the general public to our detrimental effects on the planet, OR, it will be an anthropocentric comfort, a pat on the back, knowing that humanity is just that powerful and a dominant God-like species. The AWG must address whether the Anthropocene concept has stemmed from an anthropocentric perspective, rather than purely a geologic and scientific one, and if it belongs as a truly significant era of human history as opposed to one of Earth history.