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The Anthropocene: Are Humans Now Overwhelming the Great Forces of Nature

DOI:10.1579/0044-7447(2007)36[614:TAAHNO]2.0.CO;2
Authors:
Will Steffen at Australian National University
Will Steffen
Paul Jozef Crutzen at Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Paul Jozef Crutzen
John Mcneill at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar
John Mcneill
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Abstract

We explore the development of the Anthropocene, the current epoch in which humans and our societies have become a global geophysical force. The Anthropocene began around 1800 with the onset of industrialization, the central feature of which was the enormous expansion in the use of fossil fuels. We use atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration as a single, simple indicator to track the progression of the Anthropocene. From a preindustrial value of 270-275 ppm, atmospheric carbon dioxide had risen to about 310 ppm by 1950. Since then the human enterprise has experienced a remarkable explosion, the Great Acceleration, with significant consequences for Earth System functioning. Atmospheric CO2 concentration has risen from 310 to 380 ppm since 1950, with about half of the total rise since the preindustrial era occurring in just the last 30 years. The Great Acceleration is reaching criticality. Whatever unfolds, the next few decades will surely be a tipping point in the evolution of the Anthropocene.
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The Anthropocene: Are Humans Now Overwhelming the Great Forces of Nature?
Will Steffen; Paul J Crutzen; John R McNeill
Ambio; Dec 2007; 36, 8; Sciences Module
pg. 614
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

Supplementary resource (1)

ANTHROPOCENE: Are Humans Overwhelming the Forces of Nature
Data
December 2012
Will Steffen · John Mcneill
... The chronology as well as the impact of the Anthropocene have been subject to debate. Many ecologists suggest a formal inception that corresponds with significant human technological innovations or intensifications, such as fossil fuels beginning around 1800 ce (Steffen et al. 2007) or atomic detonations starting in the mid-twentieth century (see Barnosky et al. 2014:226;Zalasiewicz et al. 2017:207). Archaeologists have argued for much earlier starting dates, noting that the human impact on the environment can be materially demonstrated long before the fossil-fuel era. ...
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