‘Anthropocene’ is probably the first human induced geological time unit in Earth’s history.
Human induced!! …….because it’s all about climate changes and its consequence on the ecosystem. Anthropocene (Greek word ‘Anthropo’ means
human and ‘cene’ means new or recent) was suggested by the Dutch Nobel prize winning Scientist Paul Crutzen. Prof. Paul Crutzen won Nobel in Chemistry in 1995 but the term was first proposed in 2000. Certainly the reason behind the name is that Prof. Crutzen thinks human activities have changed the Earth’s natural systems tremendously.
What changes we have caused? In fact the proposed new time unit is only few hundred years old beginning with the industrial revolution in 18th century. Officially we are now in Holocene, the current geologic time unit, which means ‘entirely recent’ and started back approximately 11,000 years before.
- We have caused a rise in global temperature by emitting huge amount of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
- A huge deforestation and pollution has caused the extinction of many flora and fauna.
- Acid rain further aggravates the scenario as vast open water bodies directly receive it threatening marine life.
Combining all these pieces together could mean a fast change is taking place around us whether we are ignorant about it or not.
But to declare it as a geologic time unit will need little more time. Nevertheless it is an exciting thought and will push us all forward to think and act more ‘green’.
Source: Yahoo! News