ABSTRACT
There is a growing awareness that human development has reached a point where our collective activities shape the natural world more than we are shaped by it. We are entering a new epoch, termed the Anthropocene, where human activities are fast becoming the dominant global force (Davis 2010). The power of nature to condition our world is being overtaken by the power of human impacts. Our relentless drive for economic, social, industrial and technological advancement now places critical strain on our environment.
