3 Proposed Origins Of The Anthropocene

Question 1

Intro hook

Answer 1

-“Age of mankind” (L.Chua, 2019)
-humans become dominant in shaping the earth
-intense debate, list origins
- great accel most likely

Question 2

Farming - in favour

Answer 2

-sig land use change, deforestation, slash and burn, methane from rice paddies, altering biodiversity (Mahaswa, 2021)
-‘Early Anthropocene hypothesis’ Ruddiman, prevented another ice age

Question 3

Farming - counter

Answer 3

-low scale, localized, slow, too great for human influence
-not global/drastic enough, no proper equipment - no large scale - less emissions

Question 4

Industrial Revolution 1750 - in favour

Answer 4

-39% atmo C02 increase since 1750 (Greenly, 2024)
-fossil fuels, UK, urbanisation, mining, deforestation (large scale)
-ev in geo record - coal deposits, increased black carbon levels + isotopic changes

Question 5

Industrial Revolution 1750 - counter

Answer 5

-Sig but not globally widespread, only Europe
-many impacts not realised till mid 20th c
-Just a stepping stone - provided tech and ideology

Question 6

The Great Acceleration 1950 - in favour

Answer 6

-Exponential growth, population, industrialisation, extraction, pollution
-Geo markers, Trinity test 1945, nuclear mark, radioactive isotopes in ice cores, evi of human influence on planet (Heyd, 2022)
-Global impact - climate change
-C02 rise, unparalleled biodiversity loss

Question 7

The Great Acceleration 1950 - counter

Answer 7

-some argue Anthropocene should reflect origin not the peak

Question 8

Conc

Answer 8

-Farming long term/localised - IR accelerated change - finally reached global scale
-clearest geo markers support
-understanding = scale of human impact, help future gens
-Ultimately will have to wait a few thousand years for conclusive evidence