We are experiencing a truly momentous event. For 11,700 years we have been living in the epoch our geologist kin call the Holocene. Now they may be about to announce that we have entered a new epoch, the Anthropocene, one we created all by ourselves. What an achievement! We may
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Things Are Good: We’ve Destroyed the Planet, Let’s Leave Something Beautiful Behind
We’re presently living in the anthropocene and it’s all our fault. The effects of industrialization will be felt for thousands of years to come and be evident millions of years from now (found in everything from fossil records to chemicals). There is a good chance that humanity will go extinct
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: The Perspective is Jarring.
Let’s see, 9 billion tonnes of plastic divided by 7.5 billion human beings. That’s 1.2 tonnes of plastic per person or 2,640 pounds. More than 9 billion tonnes of plastic has been produced since 1950, and almost all of it is still around. A new study that tracked the global
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: The Anthropocene, Think of It This Way
Astrobiologist David Grinspoon describes the Anthropocene, Earth’s new geological epoch this way: “We’re at the controls of planet Earth, but we’re not in control.“ True enough. We, mankind, are in the driver’s seat and we have the pedal to the metal only no one has taken the wheel. Gazing over
Continue readingThings Are Good: You Can Now Eat Climate Data
Ice cream is delicious and now you can eat a brand new flavour of it made of climate data. Well, it’s more like existing flavours put together to symbolize data about our climate and how it’s changing. Jonathon Keats is the brain behind the project and he’s mixing the ice
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: The Point of No Return?
A friend sent me a link to a Rolling Stone article, “The Point of No Return: Climate Change Nightmares are Already Here.” It’s a relatively complete and accurate synopsis of the state of our climate-changed world today. Fair warning – it’s a dismal read that you may find upsetting before
Continue readingThings Are Good: We Are in the Anthropocene Epoch
Human civilization has undoubtedly changed the surface of the planet on a massive scale. There will be evidence of our civilization’s impact for millions of years to come. This may not strike you as good news considering it implies we’ve altered the planet in a way only nature itself could
Continue readingThings Are Good: Open-Access Science Growing in Reach
Many academic journals charge a subscription fee that is out of reach for the common person, which means that independent researchers and students are at a disadvantage when it comes to accessing information. Elementa aims to make research about the anthropocene era we’re in freely accessible for everyone. Elementa follows
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