Rethinking Ecology in the Anthropocene: Knowledges, Practices, Ethics and Politics

Abstract

We have entered, unofficially, a radical new epoch called the Anthropocene, or the 'Age of Man' (Roeder, 3). Atmospheric chemist Paul J. Crutzen coined the term 'Anthropocene' over a decade ago (Crutzen & Stoermer 2000; Crutzen 2002), and it has since become widely used across earth and social sciences to describe the geological epoch that follows the Holocene: one that marks the profound impact of human activity on the planet. [i] The human species is now considered a geological force, altering Earth's biosphere. In a period of post-industrial fervour, we have begun to etch our signature into the geological record of the planet. While the Holocene epoch lasted approximately 11, 700 years, and during this time our planet was relatively stable, the Anthropocene promises to do/be the opposite. Ben Dibley observes that the Anthropocene is 'an emergence that is simultaneously an emergency' (2012: Online). The Anthropocene captures humanity's transformations of the planet brought about through industrial, urban and technological change and so is inextricably linked with climate change and Earth's sixth mass extinction event. In response to these crises humanities, social science, media, and cultural studies scholars find themselves 'called to science' (Mackenzie & Murphie 2008: 98). In May 2011 The Economist claimed that the Anthropocene, 'is like one of those moments when a scientific realisation, like Copernicus grasping that the Earth goes around the sun, could fundamentally change people's view of things far beyond science' (no author, 2011)