Welcome to the Anthropocene

Mićo Tatalović
Deputy news editor, SciDev.Net

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We have entered a new geological epoch marked by unprecedented human influences on the planet – equivalent to major geological processes, some scientists believe, and now there’s an educational website about this brave new world, dubbed the ‘Anthropocene’.

“The Anthropocene changes our relationship with the planet,” said Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrom, professor at Indiana University, and chief scientific advisor to Planet under Pressure said.

“We have a new responsibility for the planet and we need to determine how to meet that responsibility. At their core Planet Under Pressure and Rio+20 are a recognition of this.”

And some have argued that innovations can help us adapt to this new era.

Anthropocene.info, the new educational website, is designed by scientists to improve the understanding of the Earth system. It combines scientific data and with imagery aimed at better understanding of people’s effect on the planet in recent time.

The 3-minute animation ‘Welcome to the Anthropocene’ was released on the website yesterday ahead of the Planet Under Pressure conference in London (26-29 March).

“Two months before the Rio+20 Summit, the film is a clear message that our current trajectory must change. And change needs to start today,” said co-chair of the Planet Under Pressure conference, Mark Stafford Smith, Science Director of the Climate Adaptation Flagship, at CSIRO in Australia.

See the film here:

This blog post is part of our Planet Under Pressure 2012 coverage — which takes place 26–29 March 2012. To read news and analysis from the conference please visit our website.