The fact that the greatest diversity of large mammals is found in Africa reflects past human activities — and not climatic or other environmental constraints. This is determined in a new study, which presents what the world map of mammals would look like if modern man (Homo sapiens) had never existed.
Anthropocene Adjustments: Discarding the Technosphere
The ‚technosphere‘ is an open environment, the same as bio-sphere and geo-sphere, closed only partially by the ‚human agent‘ as access to energy allows.
By Jesse Peterson and Alex Zahara
The labeling of the ‘Anthropocene’ as a geological epoch—or possibly an extinction event—refers to the current era where human-made processes have changed planetary cycles for climate, ocean currents, and mineral circulation, among others. For many researchers, it is an effort to acknowledge the link between global capitalism, colonialism, and the various structural injustices that have proliferated in the 21st century, such as global climate change, mass poverty, social inequity and so on.
As a term, the Anthropocene has become such a hallmark descriptor that on April 14th of this year, the second “Anthropocene Campus: The Technosphere Issue” was held. The campus is a 10 day intensive series of plenaries, seminars, and workshops put on by Haus der Kulturen der Welt and the Max Planck Institute for History of Science. The campus brought together over three hundred academics, artists, and activists from…
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Exclusive: Effect of COsub2/sub on warming is worse than we thought
Recent record-breaking temperatures mean estimates of how much warming will result from CO2 emissions will have to be revised upwards, New Scientist can reveal
Source: Exclusive: Effect of COsub2/sub on warming is worse than we thought
The Ecological Circumstances of the Circumstances of Politics
Today we launch a new series of posts by political theorists on the issues addressed in this blog. Posts in the series will appear roughly every other week through the summer—and (we hope) beyond—u…
Source: The Ecological Circumstances of the Circumstances of Politics
A non-comforting book „Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind“
The book is divided four parts „The cognitive revolution“, „The agricultural revolution“, „The unification of humankind“, and ‚The Scientific Revolution“ and sets off with the statement „100,000 years ago, at least six human species inhabited earth. Today there is just one.“ That’s a fascinating opening statement gives in a nutshell the intellectual ride it offers.
There are some reviews of the book (e.g.: http://www.theguardian.com/…/sapiens-brief-history-humankin…) that find „…there’s a kind of vandalism in Harari’s sweeping judgments, his recklessness about causal connections, his hyper-Procrustean stretchings and loppings of the data…“. I do not share this view, although some of the author’s appreciation of the history of the last two hundred years are ‚dis-comforting‘. Interesting also that Bill Gates recommends the book for reading and takes his stands with some lines of Harari’s thoughts.
The author of SAPIENS questions habitual ‚paradigms‘ about the cultural evolution of our species (so far) to end with speculations about upcoming changes when humans overcome (their) biological and cultural evolution. All that never is a comforting intellectual program for our/a reckless and narcissist species.
The book was a rewarding reading, in particular by putting many facts and observations – ranging from anthropological / biological insights over discussing the function of religion and money to our mental processes – into a new mutual context. Much I had read elsewhere, so cross-referencing was solid, and the literature list at the end of the book is solid.
New insights brought the last part of the book that was discussing the interwoven development of scientific revolution, capitalist world and imperialism, a receipt what made our species really invasive. The more speculative very last chapter I could have skipped from a history lesson, if it wouldn’t be to think how human evolution may gain momentum if we narrow the gap between ‚living world‘ and ‚engineered world‘.
Putting observations into wider, new context and drawing general associations seems to be the strength of the author, who, and that is a further strength of the book, emphasizes how much our history is about common (subjective) constructs; a feature to which he contributes.
p.s. revised version of my post: https://www.facebook.com/groups/380398525366233/permalink/1003870953018984/
Defining the Anthropocene
More responses to ecomodernism’s critics
Happy belated May Day to everyone, leftist and non-leftist alike! Up here above the 60th parallel, yesterday was – to me – the first real spring day of the year. I celebrated by taking my wife’s bike to a ride, as my own bike is still in what’s very likely its first total overhaul for 50 years or so, and ended up admiring a local Iron Age cemetery. Back then, the hill was probably an island, as the Earth’s crust here was still depressed after the press of the last ice age. In the intervening millennia, however, after ice relented, the ground has been rising steadily, and continues to do so. In fact, Finland may escape the worst effects of climate change-induced sea level rise, because at current projections, land rises at about the same speed as the sea level is rising.
Which brings me back to the topic of…
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Loss of ocean oxygen to become noticeable in 2030s
A drop in the amount of oxygen dissolved in the oceans due to climate change is already discernible in some parts of the world and should be evident across large parts of the ocean between 2030 and 2040, according to a new study.
When Did the Anthropocene Begin…and Why Does It Matter? by Ian Angus • Monthly Review
The word Anthropocene, unknown twenty years ago, now appears in the titles of three academic journals, dozens of books, and hundreds of academic papers, not to mention innumerable articles in newspapers, magazines, websites, and blogs. There are exhibitions about art in the Anthropocene, conferences about the humanities in the Anthropocene, and novels about love in the Anthropocene. There is even a heavy metal album called The Anthropocene Extinction. Rarely has a scientific term moved so quickly into wide acceptance and general use.… Behind what might appear to be just a trendy buzzword are important scientific discussions that have radical implications for the future of life on Earth.… | more…
Source: When Did the Anthropocene Begin…and Why Does It Matter? by Ian Angus • Monthly Review
The regime shift of the 1920s and 1930s in the North Atlantic
By Paul Homewood The warming of the Arctic in the 1920s and 30s is well documented, despite attempts to wipe it from the temperature record. But it is always good to come across anoth…
Source: The regime shift of the 1920s and 1930s in the North Atlantic
Ukko Elhob's World 