The Anthropocene and the Future of Earth

3min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

All geological ages will come to an end one way or another, whether that's just followed up by an exploding sun at the end of time. What's happened is we're going to start a new epoch, which is called the Anthropocene. The very first part of that will be called the Cropfordian age after the lake. Is there any hope that we can turn the tide and eventually usher in a cleaner, greener epoch? Well, that's a big question. We have to hope so.

Plutonium from nuclear weapons, industrial waste, and human activity more broadly have left such a mark on the Earth that a new epoch called the Anthropocene has been proposed. Scientists are debating the specific geological site to define this epoch, with the frontrunner being an unassuming lake in Canada: Crawford Lake. What is it about this spot that holds the secrets to this period of history? From hydrogen bombs to hens’ bones, how do we define the Anthropocene, the beginning of the human era on Earth? Ian Sample asks Damian Carrington. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod