- Urban Sprawl (supersprawl): The excessive overcrowding of the earth and the gradual diminishing of natural space (wilderness and nature). This is a negative consequence of the Anthropocene, and also one of the most obvious indicators of its impact on the planet. Urban sprawl is not “sublime” in nature, rather it creates a new environment entirely on Earth. Urban sprawl something so unnatural, yet it becomes natural and normal through its prevalence.
- Reasons for disastrous decisions: (1) Society fails to anticipate environmental problem, (2) Something serious happens, but society is not able to perceive it, (3) Society sees problem but does not try to fix it, as a result of selfishness and/or psychological denial, (4) Society tries to fix environmental problem, but fails. According to Jared Diamond, people who make disastrous decisions may “not be sensitized to the possibility of a natural disaster,” therefore the ignorance toward the risk causes their demise.
- Prometheanism (and the three Promethean Denials): Prometheanism is a perspective on the environment that concerns itself solely with the advancement of humanity and human technology, at whatever cost to the health of the environment. Prometheus, a Greek Titan who stole fire from Zeus to create tools for human civilization, is the model for this mindset. Prometheans believe that human-caused pollution is a byproduct of progress, and have 3 main denials: (1) that the earth is a self-sustaining ecosystem, (2) that limits to human and technological development exist, and (3) that humans have responsibility to fix environmental problems.
Hypotheses of the Origin of the Anthropocene:
4. Industrial Revolution Hypothesis: This hypothesis states that the Anthropocene began in the 18th century during the Industrial Revolution that began in England and rapidly spread throughout North America. Because of the surge in technological development and use of technology, the “global effects of human activity have become clearly noticeable” (Crutzen and Stoermer). In addition, data retrieved from glacial ice cores reveal an increase in greenhouse gases during this time period when the steam engine’s debut in 1784.
5. Acceleration Hypothesis: The acceleration hypothesis states that the Anthropocene began after the Second World War, because during this time period the human population tripled in size, and various technologies, both medical and environmental, advanced further. These advancements began to have negative effects on the Earth, one example of this being the use of artificial nitrogen fertilizers creating toxic algae blooms in aquatic environments.
6. Farming Hypothesis: Hypothesized by paleoclimatologist William Ruddiman, the farming hypothesis suggests that the geological age of the Anthropocene began when commercial agriculture became popular among the human population. The farming hypothesis encourages the origin of the Anthropocene to be measured by the health of the atmosphere, the introduction of commercial farming and factories, and the subsequent increase in carbon dioxide and methane emissions.
7. Homo Sapiens Hypothesis: This is perhaps the most straightforward origin of the Anthropocene: it states that everything began 200,000 years ago, with the first appearance of homo sapiens on earth. It emphasizes that human impact on the Earth began when homo sapiens made megafauna extinct and discovered the resourcefulness of fire. Since humans have populated the Earth, we have made countless numbers of species extinct.
The Anthropocene 