
Anthropocene: A Very Short Introduction - hownottowrite
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0784ZL96K/ref=tmm_kin_title_0
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hownottowrite
Kindle/Google Play versions are out now. Print book comes in April. Highly
recommended by some Geomorphology friends.

Oxford Press Description:

The proposal that the impact of humanity on the planet has left a distinct
footprint, even on the scale of geological time, has recently gained much
ground. Global climate change, shifting global cycles of the weather,
widespread pollution, radioactive fallout, plastic accumulation, species
invasions, the mass extinction of species - these are just some of the many
indicators that we will leave a lasting record in rock, the scientific basis
for recognizing new time intervals in Earth's history. The "Anthropocene," as
the proposed new epoch has been named, is regularly in the news.

Even with such robust evidence, the proposal to formally recognize our current
time as the Anthropocene remains controversial both inside and outside the
scholarly world, kindling intense debates. The reason is clear. The
Anthropocene represents far more than just another interval of geologic time.
Instead, the Anthropocene has emerged as a powerful new narrative, a concept
through which age-old questions about the meaning of nature and even the
nature of humanity are being revisited and radically revised.

This Very Short Introduction explains the science behind the Anthropocene and
the many proposals about when to mark its beginning: The nuclear tests of the
1950s? The beginnings of agriculture? The origins of humans as a species? Erle
Ellis considers the many ways that the Anthropocene's "evolving paradigm" is
reshaping the sciences, stimulating the humanities, and foregrounding the
politics of life on a planet transformed by humans. The Anthropocene remains a
work in progress. Is this the story of an unprecedented planetary disaster? Or
of newfound wisdom and redemption? Ellis offers an insightful discussion of
our role in shaping the planet, and how this will influence our future on many
fronts.

