1—The Anthropocene Flashcards
Define the Anthropocene in your own words. When did it begin?
The Anthropocene is a new geological epoch opposed to the Miocene. It is defined by the anthropical impact on the earth’s ecosystems. Its birth is linked with the beginning of the industrial revolution in the 18th century, although some scholars prefer linking it to the awareness of such an impact, which was first acknowledged in the 1970s.
Why does the Anthropocene matter for international politics? What are the implicationsfor policy-makers?
Anthropic emissions significantly impact human lives globally. Phenomena such as increased rates of natural disasters, rising sea levels, and loss of biodiversity all threaten the future of mankind. Furthermore, due to their volatile and long-lasting nature, and the problem of the external environmental footprint—that is, goods consumed in one region but produced, generating emissions, in another—emissions can no longer be seen as a local issue, but a global one. Hence, policy-makers should foster international cooperation in order to tackle the challenges of the Anthropocene and ensure a safe future for humanity
How is sustainable development defined?
“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Our Common Future, 1978)
What are the limits of our current system and way of thinking?
The current economic system is no longer sustainable. Richer countries use natural resources faster than the Earth can regenerate them while developing countries have limited access to them yet suffer the effects of handling developed countries’ waste. The least developed countries are most impacted by climate change but lack the means to address it without other countries’ aid. On the other hand, developed countries have no interest in providing support, since they are not directly harmed by climate change, so there is no justification for the financial expenditure.
What are the planetary boundaries?
The planetary boundaries are a set of nine indicators developed by the Stockholm Resilience Center to assess the anthropic impact on the Earth’s ecosystems. They are:
1. Stratospheric ozone depletion
2. Loss of biosphere integrity (biodiversity loss and extinctions)
3. Chemical pollution and the release of novel entities
4. Climate Change
5. Ocean acidification
6. Freshwater consumption and the global hydrological cycle
7. Land system change
8. Nitrogen and phosphorus’ flows to the biosphere and oceans
9. Atmospheric aerosol loading
