After doing a previous read of Environmental Sound Artists: in their own words. As well as visiting practitioners discussing bio diversity and environmental issues within their work. I felt guided towards reading this book. I wanted to understand more around the ideas of what is the Anthropocene and what makes this an issue for our planet. What has changed for our planet to convey a new epoch. Here are a few interesting quotes taken from the book.
The book starts with discussions not the creation of the term Anthropocene.
Crediting for coining the word Anthropocene is usually given to the Dutch chemist Paul Crutzen, whose other accomplishments include, quite literally, saving the world.
Paul Crutzen being the person who coined the term Anthropocene.
Whether or not geologists officially recognise Anthropocene—they are still debating whether the textbooks should be altered—the word clearly captures something essential about our time. We live in a world dominated by humans. Possibly people already began changing the atmosphere thousands of years ago, with the invention of agriculture. Quite certainly, we started to do so once we figured out how to burn coal and oil.
I agree with this idea, that humans have altered the biosphere since we created developed communities, since burning coal and creating fires and had the intelligence to have global dominance over other species.
What should we do with this knowledge? Should we scale back our influence? Can we? What do those alive today owe to future generation? What about to the millions of other species with which we share the planet?
I think one should consider what to do once they have understood information. How do you act on the information that the planet is being negatively impacted by human dominance. Do you consider changing or accepting our fate? I think this is what many sound artists face. The information presented is then changed into artworks, reflecting through sonic knowledge.
Nature can no longer be viewed in isolation from the human world.
Again this human centric ideas that we are the leaders, and that we have no need to consider other lifeforms within our planet is not what I agree with. How can we take responsibility as a species and consider with respect other lifeforms?
The whole human species is not responsible for the negative effects of global environmental change, just as not all groups are equally threatened by the ramifications of those changes.
I think this is really important, to say that we are all culprits is dangerous. Capitalism creates a scenario where the larger the company, the larger the income the more dominance one has over society. Large corporations are creating more greenhouse gasses than one individual human can in their entire lifetime. How can we challenge corporations for their environmental affect on the planet.
Arguments simmer about how old it is. The weight of the evidence suggests that the Anthropocene began in the mid-twentieth century, but some scientists argue for a much old Anthropocene, beginning with the harnessing of fire,
Considerations within where and how the Anthropocene started.
Earth is at or very close to an extinction rate of one thousand times prehuman levels, and the rate is accelerating. Repeat: accelerating.
This really does convey the exact damage we have done as a species to this planet, how close we are to global extinction, ruining the ecosystem not just for ourselves but extended lifeforms.
I want to read further into other issues facing the Anthropocene, the idea that not all scientists actually support the ideas presented and that its not accepted by all has me thinking what I’m missing on. I’ve found this book to only consider one view point and not correctly argue against the negatives of this topic.