ABSTRACT
The term “Anthropocene” arose in 2000 to describe the current age as one indelibly marked by humans. Although it was coined first outside of geology, geologists in 2019 took a major step toward formal recognition of the Anthropocene as a new geological epoch that began with nuclear tests and the start of the Great Acceleration in the rate of human-caused global ecological change in the mid-twentieth century. The term Anthropocene has powerful impact both as a point of no return and as a glaring spotlight on serious dangers in the human-Earth relationship.
However, it has been criticized for being bound to an entrenched set of ideas and for not focusing enough attention on capitalism or other specific causes as opposed to all of humanity. Nonetheless, the Anthropocene is a useful concept for analyzing and framing responses to the current human-Earth dilemma, because it reflects the immense power of humans' unrivalled capacity for collective learning—a trait that both brought the Anthropocene about and that might lead to a transformation to an enduring, mutually enhancing human-Earth relationship.
