UNIVERSIDAD CIENTÍFICA DEL SUR

CURSE: EDUCACIÓN AMBIENTAL

PROFESSOR: ESPINOZA COLAN, JORGE ARNALDO

Tarea académica semana 11 – EXTRA POINTS

STUDENT:

- Huaylinos Alvarez, Alison Karol.

 A TERM THAT IS SHAKING UP CURRENT AFFAIRS
The Anthropocene is a term that is little known in young people's
vocabularies, as it is not common to hear it in conversation. However, it has
become viral in recent years due to climate change and the effects of
greenhouse gases on the Earth. Indeed, Anthropocene was born out of the
changes brought about by a consumerist society and unstoppable economic
lobbies, which is why this essay aims to make it known as such, starting
from its origin, the great acceleration of the environment, whether it is a
metaphor or a real era, collective negotiation and overcoming deadlocks.
1. The great acceleration, arises from the combination of environmental
scientists Johan Rockström, Will Steffen and their colleagues at the
Stockholm Resilience Centre, where they came up with a list of 9
boundaries to define the damage caused within the Earth. According to
UNESCO (2018):
It drew up a list of nine planetary boundaries that would be dangerous to
cross. Four of these boundaries have already been crossed: climate
change, vegetation cover, biodiversity loss and extinction (the Sixth
Extinction) and biogeochemical flows, with the phosphorus and nitrogen
cycles playing a particularly crucial role. (parraf. 4)
Then, as they progress, they could better identify the damage done to
the environment, such as: Habitats, ecosystems, animals, etc.
2. Metaphor or real geological epoch? This is a discussion scientists
have in their sights, as they want to define disasters that occur naturally
and by the hand of man, according to UNESCO (2018):
The concept of the Anthropocene has sparked several controversies
despite its brief existence: the term itself has been questioned.
Historians and anthropologists have questioned the reference to
Anthropos, the generic human being. (parraf. 7)
Because of the aforementioned, they doubt the existence of a real era
for the simple fact that the human being is still the human being, but not
counting what happened during the pandemic that left us all without
alternatives. According to UNESCO (2018):
'Since the end of the Second World War, several scientists have warned
about the non-generalizable and unsustainable character of the Western
economic model. In the early 1970s, the situation worsened, the
warnings multiplied and the scientific evidence accumulated. On both
occasions, a historic change of course would have been possible. Today
it has become more difficult. (parraf. 9)
 Therefore, we can argue that every time an event marks our history, it is
the fault of the human being, which from my perspective would be in line
with calling it a "real new epoch", as it is important to mark it in our global
history.
3. Collective denial, this point refers to politics itself, when it does not
actively participate in what environmental laws propose or when the
state shies away from the demands of environmentalists as if it were in
the background. According to UNESCO (2018):
Why do we refuse to see this? There could be several reasons: a blind
faith in progress and development, in other words, in a system that
increases available wealth indefinitely, and a belief in the ability of
science and technology to solve all problems and negative externalities
(such as pollution, for example); powerful interests that benefit from this
process and lobby intensively; the media takeover of consumers' minds,
creating a hunger for individual consumption, both for comfort and to
differentiate and be recognized. (para. 10)
So it refers to the controversy given from the use of the term
Anthropocene, because from it began to spread a study within each
science to help the population with the solution of climate problems.
In conclusion, in any case, whatever one's position on the reality or
otherwise of something we might call the Anthropocene, it is undeniable
that human dominance has reached such an intensity that along with the
globalization of markets, a globalization of environmental change is
occurring. Human-induced environmental change has led to the
deterioration of the stratospheric ozone layer and global climate change.
Human activity is also affecting the truth of biotic communities by
generating significant species losses and severe levels of environmental
pollution, resulting in drastic changes in the performance and constitution
of the biosphere.

REFERENCIA BIBLOGRÁFICA:
The UNESCO Courier. (2018). Anthropocene: the vital challenges of a scientific
debate. Recuperado de https://en.unesco.org/courier/2018-2/anthropocene-vital-
challenges-scientific-debate

Equihua, M. (2015). Global Change: The Anthropocene. vol. 23, núm. 1, pp. 67-75.
https://www.redalyc.org/journal/104/10444319008/html/#fn1