Anthropocene: New Human Epoch
2023-07-16
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1Since the middle of the 20th century, humans have had a very strong effect on planet Earth.
2These effects have included climate change, species loss and pollution.
3Humanity's impact has been so strong that scientists say a new geological epoch began then.
4The scientists call it the Anthropocene epoch.
5The word comes from the Greek terms for "human" and "new."
6This epoch started sometime between 1950 and 1954, the scientists say.
7There is evidence worldwide of the harmful impact on the Earth's health of burning fossil fuels, dropping nuclear weapons and releasing fertilizers and plastics on land and in water.
8"It's quite clear that the scale of change has intensified unbelievably and that has to be human impact," said University of Leicester geologist Colin Waters. He led the Anthropocene Working Group.
9The scientists say the power of humans is comparable with the meteorite that crashed into Earth 66 million years ago.
10The meteorite killed off the dinosaurs and started the Cenozoic Era, or what is known as the age of mammals.
11While that meteorite started a whole new era, the working group is proposing that humans only started a new epoch.
12An epoch is a much smaller geological time period.
13The scientists are proposing a small but deep lake outside of Toronto, Canada, to place a historic marker.
14The lake is called Crawford Lake.
15The group aims to decide on an exact start date of the Anthropocene by measuring plutonium levels at the bottom of Crawford Lake.
16Crawford Lake is 29 meters deep and 24,000 square meters wide.
17It was chosen over 11 other sites because the yearly effects of human activity on the earth's soil, atmosphere and biology are clearly shown in its layers of sediment.
18That includes everything from the effect of nuclear weapons to pollution to rising temperatures.
19There are clear signs in Crawford Lake showing that, starting in 1950, "the effects of humans overwhelm the Earth system," said Francine McCarthy.
20She is part of the working group who specializes in that site as an Earth sciences professor at Brock University in Canada.
21The Anthropocene shows the power - and hubris - of humankind, several scientists said.
22Hubris is a great or foolish amount of confidence.
23"The hubris is in imagining that we are in control," said former U.S. White House science adviser John Holdren.
24He was not part of the working group of scientists.
25He disagrees with the group's proposed start date.
26Instead, he wants one much earlier.
27Holdren said the power of humans to change the environment is far greater than their understanding of the impacts.
28Geologists measure time in eons, eras, periods, epochs and ages, with eons being the longest.
29The scientific working group is proposing that Anthropocene Epoch followed the Holocene Epoch.
30Holocene started about 11,700 years ago at the end of an ice age.
31The proposal still needs to be approved by three different groups of geologists.
32It could be signed at a major conference next year.
33Naomi Oreskes is a science historian with Harvard University and a working group member.
34She said if there is no change to harmful human activities, "we are headed for tragedy."
35I'm Dan Novak.
1Since the middle of the 20th century, humans have had a very strong effect on planet Earth. These effects have included climate change, species loss and pollution. Humanity's impact has been so strong that scientists say a new geological epoch began then. 2The scientists call it the Anthropocene epoch. The word comes from the Greek terms for "human" and "new." This epoch started sometime between 1950 and 1954, the scientists say. 3There is evidence worldwide of the harmful impact on the Earth's health of burning fossil fuels, dropping nuclear weapons and releasing fertilizers and plastics on land and in water. 4"It's quite clear that the scale of change has intensified unbelievably and that has to be human impact," said University of Leicester geologist Colin Waters. He led the Anthropocene Working Group. 5The scientists say the power of humans is comparable with the meteorite that crashed into Earth 66 million years ago. The meteorite killed off the dinosaurs and started the Cenozoic Era, or what is known as the age of mammals. While that meteorite started a whole new era, the working group is proposing that humans only started a new epoch. An epoch is a much smaller geological time period. 6The scientists are proposing a small but deep lake outside of Toronto, Canada, to place a historic marker. The lake is called Crawford Lake. The group aims to decide on an exact start date of the Anthropocene by measuring plutonium levels at the bottom of Crawford Lake. 7Crawford Lake is 29 meters deep and 24,000 square meters wide. It was chosen over 11 other sites because the yearly effects of human activity on the earth's soil, atmosphere and biology are clearly shown in its layers of sediment. That includes everything from the effect of nuclear weapons to pollution to rising temperatures. 8There are clear signs in Crawford Lake showing that, starting in 1950, "the effects of humans overwhelm the Earth system," said Francine McCarthy. She is part of the working group who specializes in that site as an Earth sciences professor at Brock University in Canada. 9The Anthropocene shows the power - and hubris - of humankind, several scientists said. Hubris is a great or foolish amount of confidence. 10"The hubris is in imagining that we are in control," said former U.S. White House science adviser John Holdren. He was not part of the working group of scientists. He disagrees with the group's proposed start date. Instead, he wants one much earlier. Holdren said the power of humans to change the environment is far greater than their understanding of the impacts. 11Geologists measure time in eons, eras, periods, epochs and ages, with eons being the longest. The scientific working group is proposing that Anthropocene Epoch followed the Holocene Epoch. Holocene started about 11,700 years ago at the end of an ice age. 12The proposal still needs to be approved by three different groups of geologists. It could be signed at a major conference next year. 13Naomi Oreskes is a science historian with Harvard University and a working group member. She said if there is no change to harmful human activities, "we are headed for tragedy." 14I'm Dan Novak. 15Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting from Associated Press. 16_____________________________________________________________________ 17Words in This Story 18species - n. a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants 19impact - n. a powerful or major influence or effect 20geology - n. a science that studies rocks, layers of soil, etc., in order to learn about the history of the Earth and its life 21epoch - n. a period of time that is very important in history 22fertilizer - n. a substance that is added to soil to help the growth of plants 23scale - n. : a device that is used for weighing people or things 24meteorite - n. a piece of rock or metal that has fallen to the ground from outer space 25sediment - n. material that sinks to the bottom of a liquid 26overwhelm - v. to cause to have too many things to deal with 27hubris - n. a great or foolish amount of pride or confidence