The debate over the Anthropocene, explained

[@Vox]

In the maps at 5:41 and at 6:25, the marker for Crawford Lake is incorrectly placed. Thanks to those who flagged it! But for more info on Crawford Lake check out this beautiful project that has a ton of detail about the field work there. If you scroll down you'll see the Anthropocene Working Group's study. www.anthropocene-curriculum.org/the-geological-anthropocene/site/crawford-lake

[@TestName286]

I love vox accountability. No other media source is this good

[@carlwheezer1544]

@@TestName286 except for when they greenwash for airline companies

[@lucassteiner_]

Also noticed Ediacaran is listed twice at 3:20, when it should be Cambrian

[@guacaprole]

@@TestName286 Objectively not true in a comment praising accuracy. Nice!

[@timseguine2]

My favorite name that I have heard for it is the "Plasticene" Era, playing on Pleistocene, because some people say there should now be enough plastic and microplastic in the current sedimentary layer that it should be obvious to potential future paleontologists that something significant happened around now.

[@benmcreynolds8581]

Even if they don't want to claim it a new geological era. They should At least make it some kind of official sedimentary time zone. They can't deny the impact of plastic and the human impact on these sedimentary layers. They will be signs and markers for thousands of years into the future.

[@crayonburry]

Y’all forget that wood is a type of plastic, it being [crushed] down into coal is how we power our world. So manmade/synthesized plastics is more descriptive. (I think defining the word plastic to include all the generally accepted plastics without including cellulose and lignin, to be like defining a chair, it’s very large group of materials, and that diversity in molecule types is why we thought of it as a miracle material in the first place)

[@MobiusPeverell]

That would be adequately described as a geologic event, rather than an epoch, as it has not been sustained over millions of years.

[@PJ-oe6eu]

​​@@crayonburryIsn't plastic specifically synthetic or man made polymers?

[@crayonburry]

@@PJ-oe6eu I am getting conflicting answers from google. As natural/bio based plastics are classed as plastics. And wood is made of polymers (cellulose, lignin). The major argument for wood not being a plastic, is that it biodegrades. Yet when wood first evolved, wood was not biodegradable, and that specific fact is why we have coal today. So I find it weird to separate wood from other plastics.

[@johnchessant3012]

It's odd that we feel the need to have such a precise start date to what's clearly a new epoch for the planet. I mean, our uncertainty about the date of the asteroid impact is on the order of tens of thousands of years.

[@DoggyHateFire]

Pretty much what I was thinking as well. The change has been huge and for all intents and purposes permanent outside of some global cooperation on a scale never seen before.

[@nathanong]

I'm a paleontologist studying this extinction, and yes you are absolutely correct! It's madness!!

[@ano_nym]

Hubris, they specifically want to put their mark somewhere now when we live. Instead of letting our ancestors take care of it when time comes.

[@kierenmoore3236]

Maybe it’s the fact that we can’t be so precise about things that far back, that makes them want to be as precise as possible now when we can be?

[@ano_nym]

@@kierenmoore3236 and there is no chance that our ancestors will simply think "lol, why did they put it here? It was not until 2000 years later." The thing is, if you can't be "precise" even far back then it was probably not a big change. The ones we have put out show big changes.

[@geoqueen25]

Growing up visiting Crawford Lake and then studying under the professors from Brock University who took on this research in my undergrad, to now seeing both these encounters come together has been the coolest experience!

[@Jeff-q4u]

That is really cool!😎

[@whitesedan99]

Fellow Badger!

[@roneyandrade6287]

Cool and your name goes well

[@Neptune0404]

I love it when old school papers I wrote get verified in videos like this. I was asked to write a paper on whether or not the Anthropocene was real, and if so when did it start. And my conclusion was that if any point had any validity, it would be when nuclear testing began. But much more than that, I essentially claimed that picking a time and reason now and declaring that this was the start of a brand new geological era was was not only short sighted, but egotistical. As in, if humans do create an impact that later marks a new geological era, it might well be years off from now (for example, if a nuclear war happens, then that effect will make any before it null and void), and so declaring any point in time before we have the benefit of hindsight is useless. But additionally the idea that our current effects justify enough geological change is probably based on a view of artificially raised importance of humanity. I think the Anthropocene is a great description when used as a historical or a philosophical term. But as a geological term, it simply does not hold water yet.

[@snygg1993]

"our current effects justify enough geological change is probably based on a view of artificially raised importance of humanity" I kindly disagree. One counter-example: If you have a look on the number of species on earth, reducing them by about 75% (until now) is indeed comparable to other massextinction events on the planet. Or the rise in temperature or CO2, we effectively avoided the upcoming ice age in the ~28k year cycle. These (and others too) are not founded in "artificially raised importance" but, from a geological viewpoint, indeed some pretty astonishing "achievements".

[@Neptune0404]

@@snygg1993 I could have been more clear, as I'm not at all saying we haven't had an impact. What I'm saying is that seeing our impact as grounds to declare a new epoc is probably too much. We have certainly had an effect within this epoc, and given time we might look back and say "indeed we were correct, that was the turning point". But I think claiming so while still being within that same time of change is an act of arrogance. Its like deciding that spring is here because you've had a warm day in january. Much more significant change may well be coming, and since we havent been through this spring before we can't say if this truly is the peak of change, or just the first warm day.

[@evindrews]

But isn't this culturally significant, despite geological certainty? As far as utility, it's pretty useful to define the Anthropocene epoch, even if it changes in the future. The lines we set aren't set in stone. (pardon the pun..)

[@Neptune0404]

@@evindrews For sure, like I said philosophically, historically, and as you say culturally, its a great term. Just not geologically. Saying "we're in the era of mankind" is very different from saying "geologically we're in the era of mankind and should name a new epoc after it"

[@gordon1545]

Very much so. It's too soon to call it an era when it could very well just be a boundary event.

[@firebrook9]

5:41 Graphics Error: Crawford Lake is in Southern Ontario, not Northwestern Quebec

[@sammagnum]

Oh Canada

[@miloandash]

lol how did they get it that wrong

[@Vnifit]

I saw that too, pretty egregious!

[@Exuviax]

@@miloandash Probably because the map doesn't show Lake Ontario or Erie, and so the animator got confused and used Hudson Bay instead lol

[@stevenswandono9976]

Vox needs to do better

[@jchastain789]

When you look back at the earth. We are all a bunch of worker ants.

[@ginalley]

The ascetic ideal strikes once more

[@DefenestrateYourself]

Ants don’t pollute and irreparably destroy their environments though

[@bobbobby3085]

When you look back at earth. We are all a bunch of humans who've done so much whether bad or good Stop with this constant villifying of humans if you hate being one go join the ants

[@hansschubert5656]

⁠@@bobbobby3085yeah and what exactly do you mean with good for earth? For humans yes of cause but for earth not really. We arent even able of equality around the globe mainly western countrys robbin the poore Afrika indonesia vietnam

[@Dayepipes]

Actually, we are only some new buffers within a solar energy transfer system. Solar energy comes in, and over some years and centuries afterwards, radiates back out as heat. All we've ever done is add some complexity to the process, and send a ton or few of refined earth material out of the solar system.

[@FC-ds9ve]

All I could think of is John Green’s Anthropocene Reviewed podcast/book. Maybe he’ll come back and review that lake.

[@acgeewhiz]

Such a good bit of writing by him. 5 stars.

[@sjwimmel]

This video would have been 5 stars if it were called "The debate over the Anthopocene, Reviewed"

[@RachelBayati]

+

[@westrim]

They already did. SciShow did a video about it a couple months ago.

[@henrrysarangolux9739]

+

[@riversknowthis4900]

The whole idea of a golden spike, while I'm sure useful in some ways, is nevertheless trying to impose order on the chaos of knowledge; just like trying to impose strict boundaries on geologic time. But we construct these names and spikes and timelines because they are useful. The idea of the Anthropocene is useful-it helps jolt us out of thinking we can continue to act as if we were living in the relatively stable climate of the Holocene. The future will not be like the past. We are no longer humans of the Holocene.

[@dryzalizer]

I'm a bit surprised no mention was made of elevated Pb from leaded gasoline before it was removed, the lake should have a record of that in its sediments too since the dispersal is worldwide.

[@Jeff-q4u]

I was also thinking air travel/space travel. Along the same lines, but yours would be more obvious I think 🤔

[@ross-carlson]

My guess is using atomic testing is by far the easiest as it added elements that wouldn't be there in literally any other way so there'd never be an argument of where it came from or what it was. Clearer to all.

[@Eno-en6fp]

Vox, vice, daily show, and last week tonight are my go to for informational videos. Good stuff

[@kitsunegamedev4526]

Vice is a little bit "meh" lately. But ye.

[@ItsMeHammie]

Idk makes sense to me to mark our era. Sure it's only been roughly a hundred years, but look all around us during that time. We've changed the climate, moved mountains, destroyed countless areas.

[@monty58]

It makes sense to mark our era, but I'd say it makes less sense to choose a specific year or decade to be that mark. All the past ones are ranges of thousands of years, we can just say the date is the 1800s or 1900s and be done with it. Figure out which century started leaving behind things that'd last long enough to be seen in rock layers and say "yep, that's the starting point. The golden spike will be for geologists in thousands or millions of years to plant when they try to find good evidence of how long our era lasted. If we want to leave one now, just leave it anywhere on the ground and we've marked our era.

[@JustAnotherAccount8]

Not really, like they said, we can't see the wood for the trees. it'd be like trying to say how big the ocean is while we're swimming in it.

[@gordon1545]

It's right to mark it, but we don't know how long the changed conditions will persist and it would need to be millions of years to justify calling it an era. We could be actually or functionally extinct long before then, and the Anthropocene could be a boundary event.

[@mariusvanc]

If all of humanity vanished tomorrow, all traces of us would be nearly gone within a couple hundred years, which is not even a blink in geologic time.

[@JustAnotherAccount8]

@@mariusvanc thats not at all true. There would be a thin layer in the geological timeline that shows our activity

[@AelfwineGaming]

This is the Capitalocene. An era where money and capitals reign supreme, above humans. Thank you for the video.

[@Game_Hero]

nothing to do with geology

[@ckhpersonal670]

Add in Stalinium, for good measure

[@erenelvis666]

🤩🤩🤩🤩

[@laincoubert7236]

not the grimes sneak 😭😭 8:13

[@56independent]

Well, it does quite clearly exemplify how significant this little epoch is

[@f.c.6441]

I love that those scientists don't need to be in a hurry at all. They literally have millions of years to finish the work :)

[@bluwaffle966]

Perfect portrait of the scientific community. Global cooperation and conflicts about definitions. It's beautifully broken, and I wouldn't want it any other way ❤

[@RedGoobler]

You had me at Guardians of the geological calendar

[@dryzalizer]

3:19 Ediacaran is shown twice, the second label should say Cambrian.

[@seann4678]

Vox makes a lot of great videos, but honestly their error checking is amateurish

[@tokyodrifttt]

Love these types of videos thank you vox

[@_D_P_]

8:28 What is that big scrolling map wall? I want a video on that. Maybe not by Vox. But that's a cool piece of tech.

[@ckhpersonal670]

by Vox's son; Johnny Harris, of course!

[@arduous222]

Nuclear signal is the most obvious one to be sure. I heard that all steel we have produced anywhere on the globe after WW2 has a little bit of radiation because of all the nuclear explosions that it cannot be used for making Geiger counter. This is a good reference.

[@andrewforrest862]

Yes, I saw something about that recently;- The German Navy Fleet from WW1 was scuttled in Scapa Flow, Orkney in 1919 . Those many kilo-tonnes of quality German steel now have a commercial value for just that reason.

[@carlbennett2417]

Excellent accessible but not dumbed-down content. Kudos to Vox.

[@Thoughtspresso]

I loved how you closed out this story. Kudos to the writer(s)

[@mitchellhansen4189]

i loved this video so much omg thank you vox please never stop

[@dannick100]

i’ve been hiking crawford lake for 15+ years lol. so cool to see our little slice of the world hit the spotlight

[@MarlosCartinez]

Me and all my homies stuck in the the cretaceuous period

[@jasonhaven7170]

Don't use Blk slang.

[@worschtebrot]

Very nice window into the workings of global academic organizations. Thank you!

[@ReseteaLaSalud]

0:07 🌊 Crawford Lake is a rare meromictic lake near Toronto, Canada, with unique sediment preservation due to its deep, non-mixing water layers. 1:37 🕰 The International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) decides on geologic time divisions, including the potential Anthropocene epoch. 4:11 🌍 Evidence of human impact on Earth, like changes in sediment layers, nitrogen cycles, and extinctions, supports the Anthropocene proposal. 5:31 🏞 Crawford Lake's sediment core, including plutonium from nuclear testing, was proposed as a golden spike for the Anthropocene epoch. 7:01 ⏳ The ICS rejected the Anthropocene proposal, deeming a 70-year epoch insignificant in geological history. 7:47 🌎 Despite rejection, the concept of the Anthropocene highlights human impact on the planet, resonating culturally. 9:02 📊 The story emphasizes scientific data interpretation, reflecting on the need for critical thinking skills, like those taught by Brilliant

[@tarnopol]

They’ll still be debating this as the missiles fly in the inevitable war over disappearing resources.

[@J.5.M.]

As a Canadian I have to give props for how you pronounced Newfoundland 👏🏻

[@solssun]

I feel like we’re more akin to an extinction event than a geologic period

[@riversknowthis4900]

If I recall correctly, all 5 of the past great extinctions occurred at the boundaries of different geological "times."

[@aaronjennings8385]

It's an extinction event to people without children. Life will move on without them.

[@DJFracus]

@@riversknowthis4900 Well of course, but that's not a coincidence - it's because the boundaries were caused by the same things as whatever caused the 5 mass extinctions. Something drastic happened to the Earth for each of those mass extinctions and changed the world forever, and the sudden change is visible in the rocks and the fossil record.

[@Boltclick]

If that's the case, then we are at the very start of the extinction event. Even a quick look at the numbers will tell you that humans have caused no where near as much damage as the past 5 great extinctions. However, if technology and disregard for nature accelerates, then in 150 years we may have a case for that.

[@JustAnotherAccount8]

Cyanobacteria caused a mass extinction known as the great oxygenation event; and yet in that process they created the necessary environment for more complex life. The idea that we are separate from nature, and that the things we do are unnatural is absurd. We are not Gods, we are just another rung on the ladder of evolution.

[@JT-nr2ss]

Excellent video, once again. The quality and storytelling is stellar!

[@hunterBoaz6]

I thought for sure the detonation of the first nuclear bomb would mark the beginning of the era, as our steel and earth is now time stamped.

[@JacobGarcia-ln8cq]

One of the best videos ever made by vox

[@TheChosenFailure]

2:15 ah Jstor, I thought I wouldn't have to see you till the end of summer once more since I finished my end of semester papers, but here you are again, haunting me.

[@coralaquamarine]

Holy s***! Earl Ellis was my college professor! He taught my ecology class and my anthropogenic Biome class

[@JesseLewis314]

So, geologists' current relationship status with the Anthropocene is, "it's complicated, but not official." Sounds like they want some more time to sort themselves out and make sure it's a good move long term.

[@CesarV91]

Loved to see the Bogotá pic 🖤

[@Jamesthomas007]

One thing is certain Anthropocene would be the shortest period 😝😝😝😝

[@chrominox]

8:19 _"If humans are still around..."_ you know, it just hits a tad bit different in 2024.

[@philoso377]

Nice video and presentation. Page 1:56 What make us think that by iridium debris littered found on earth constitutes an astroid hit? Why can’t this be a comment rich in iridium fly by and litter debris on earth? That extinction has a different course? Why are we so hungry for solution in science willing to give up the science methods and embrace anything in front of us?

[@chefscorner7063]

Great explanation on the why and how the naming of era's works.

[@mrjaytheking2011]

Life would be better for humans if we all just got along

[@NathanMatthews.]

Can never get along with Muslims

[@dbqp5211]

conflict is in our genes

[@mulsenhfk]

@@dbqp5211 couldn't have said it better

[@DeVolksrepubliek]

Power to the Workers

[@jasonhaven7170]

@@DeVolksrepubliek You literally want a white ethnostate. No.

[@not2busy]

How about the "Catastrophic" era. Yes, certainly, a golden spike indeed. 🙄

[@satyasankalpapanigrahi9416]

Homotrophic ( yeah ) that's is sixth mass extinction event ongoing now

[@kuba2ve]

Depends on your definition of catastrophe. We live in an Era where millions of people have been able to get out of extreme poverty, and have a standard of living better than the kings in the past. But hey, to some people going back on time, and making everyone poor and miserable again is worth doing, for the sake of "saving the planet".

[@kuba2ve]

By the way, how good is a planet without humans and a conscience to behold it?

[@zaki4418]

The Earth has seen darker days.

[@emilio9606]

wow what an amazing work you've done!!! thank you

[@Pedrofiliac]

Hope the people who said 70 years was too short of time realize that when the Anthropocene ends, nobody is going to be stratigraphating anything

[@blumpth]

It's worth Reviewing at least

[@fromscratch8774]

Loved the video despite not understanding a single word.

[@adaugeo]

Good vid but i think that the most important matter is how our effects can be mitigated, rather than whether it counts as it's own epoch

[@teo2157]

I think our effects should be maximised actually.

[@majoroi]

Nice vid! I think it's important to understand the Anthropocene as a way to move towards the future, instead of trying to find its roots. I know there's an actual need to find the 'golden spike,' but in my opinion, the whole utilization of the concept finds its meaning in trying to actually change the way we are currently living, especially regarding the exploitation of resources. If we continue with our current lifestyle as it is, we won't have a 'future generation' to tell them which was the exact 'golden spike,' I guess.

[@theodore23sanchez]

Geologist here! I firmly believe that the Anthropocene is official.

[@wilmacTests]

Great video, but why is the dot for Crawford Lake on the map of candidate sites placed so incorrectly relative to its actual position XD

[@adaugeo]

ha ha yeah

[@naemus3672]

My dad was a close colleague of Paul Crutzen (the man who coined the term "Anthropocene")!

[@eldrago19]

The question I always ask about the Anthropocene is whether it is necessary. Human activity, as you show, is evident at the very beginning of the Holocene (e.g. large mammal extinctions, agriculture).

[@l88ch3r]

What a fantastic video. I learned a lot!

[@vinchitZone]

Very helpful and knowledgeful

[@michaelzimmermann7734]

The committee acknowledges that humans have changed the world but they say it is only just a blip in time. That is the entire reason why it should be shown as an epoch with the Anthropocene. It shows the enormity of the change that we have brought to the entire planet in such a short time. What took millions of years in past epochs was done by humans in only decades.

[@ЙцукенПетрович]

Thanks for using civilized units of measurement.

[@techcafe0]

human industrialization is consuming and dramatically changing planet earth in a very short period of geological time, that is undeniable.

[@pongop]

Great video! Shout out to the OER Project! Fre high quality teaching resources!

[@Pierluigi_Di_Lorenzo]

Yes, and at its end containing a world-wide layer with a lot of lead-207 and uranium-238.

[@Tulpen23]

Fascinating with very helpful graphics

[@mylittlemexicanfriend9907]

fantastic video!, I live near Crawford lake and enjoy it very much there are many things there that make it special. I was so excited at the chance to have a golden spike i could go visit near me but alas we are too early for that. still warrants going back with a new perspective though!

[@HuckleberryHim]

I think part of the problem is that there is a separate Holocene epoch. It's already so short and only marked by an unremarkable interglacial. Move it up or down, but the last 12,000 years don't have enough room for two epochs. I do agree that, wherever we start it, humanity's impact on the planet is obviously geologically relevant and should be reflected on the geologic time scale.

[@travelchoice89]

🌍🤔 Join the debate on the Anthropocene and its implications for our planet's future! 🔄📚 Explore the complexities of this concept and its significance in shaping our understanding of human impact on Earth.

[@KIJOBEATS]

very important video well done guys

[@isaacbolivar6329]

HEYYYY Bogota! In the first urban shot. I feel seen! hahaha. Love from Bogota!

[@VE0003]

Holocene (Taylor's Version)

[@schwepesssssss]

Well, maybe to our point of view it would be useful to have this separated denomination. But we must not forger that we are really just a bunch of primates.

[@arryn786]

Human growth literally both looks and acts like cancerous tumours so if it’s having a large effect on the geologic record it should be marked so we know when the Earth began being killed🤷‍♂️.

[@babyfaec]

But also the most successful species to ever inhabit the earth.

[@teo2157]

fFrom any point of view actually, theres no way you can take an objective look at the planet and see such massive change in such a short amount of time and just not acknowledge humanity. We are far more than bunch of primates, we are separate and above the rest of nature.

[@JojoJoget]

@@babyfaec bacteria are more successful

[@VexylObby]

The reason that Anthropocene inclusion is significant is that the planet hasn't changed it's size, but HOW it is effected is exponential because of how life and thus humans have gained such power to alter the planet.

[@climate_anti-hoax]

A good addition to the debate is Charles C Mann's book called 1491, this known as the great Columbian Exchange and it has impacted the global stratigraphy dramatically and rapidly and this is prior to the Industrial Revolution and it gave the trinity of ingredients for it: iron ore, fossil fuels, and rubber. 11,7000 is the Pleistocene/Holocene golden spike, then the Holocene is divided up into 3 stages, where the latest, the Meghalayan is based on a single speleothem from India. Maybe the Anthropocene is not a new epoch, but a new stage within the "Age of Man", the Holocene?

[@sapien01010]

When I was a kid, I predicted the whole world would eventually be tiled in discarded bubblegum. It would have been the “gumocene” if it came to pass.

[@LimitedWard]

There's a distinct irony in the way scientists can agree on epochs from millions of years ago and yet they can't agree on the epoch we live in today.

[@peraltatrillos]

0:39 Bogotá???

[@HastyClip]

Look at these primates and how they try to meticulously understand and organize the chaotic reality they exist in. The human spirit is quite inspiring.

[@YouAreStillNotablaze]

Get out of my planet's chat, you alien.

[@afarongordon]

5:31 it’s interesting that Africa wasn’t even touched with the golden spike 😑???

[@fabio.lous_]

How about capitaliscene?

[@bobbobby3085]

I feel Anthropocene sounds better

[@fabio.lous_]

@@bobbobby3085 but capitaliscene is more accurate

[@eddielong96]

At 5:51, wasn't it corn pollen, not dust?

[@lopalopagaga]

At 03:20 why is ediocaran written twice?

[@peace4world]

Will humans self-destruct with the increasing pace of wars aided by AGI? ... making it the end rather than the beginning of Anthropocene epoch?

[@fep_ptcp883]

Also it is a very nice book by John Green

[@acgeewhiz]

The podcast episodes were even better, in my opinion. He already did a lot of good writing, but as he read them it took it to the next level. 5 stars.

[@michaelkhoo5846]

Nice video, thank you!

[@TravisRiver]

The capitalocene explains what we're living through far better than anthropocene.

[@juansebastianrodrigueznons9771]

0:39, it shows my city! Bogotá, Colombia 🇨🇴

[@ET_LWO]

Awesome video!

[@harshaasiwal2540]

As a person who is majoring in geology in undergraduate studies... Vox videos make me feel like.. choosing science was not a bad decision. Thanks for these AMAZING videos. I hope to continue seeing these videos till my lifetime

[@Buntos101]

Great video thanks!

[@martinebon4333]

I do believe that our actions in the next decades will dictate as to whether or not humanity will prosper and thrive OR go extinct. Unfortunately, as far as we can see now that there is a lot of inaction with regards to governments and heads of states in enacting policies for change. Record temperatures, droughts, stronger typhoons, unpredictable weather systems, famine, loss of biodiversity, and potential ecological collapse are too evident to ignore. In the end, our fate is in our hands.

[@Jose.AFT.Saddul]

The thing is. Humanity can survive a lot of these catastrophe’s. Yes many may not make it. But it takes a very big catastrophe to wipe us all out to extinction But overall humanity could survive. The issue is many other diverse ecosystems might not. So it’s going to be an extinction event for them.

[@ano_nym]

Humans are the most adaptable animals on the planet, would take a lot more than a bit of bad weather to wipe us out.

[@declaringpond2276]

​@@ano_nymthis isn't "bad weather" it's literally the collapse of agriculture as we know it. It will lead to mass starvation, and potentially the end of modern humans. Agriculture requires a few things, pollenizers, temperature, and water.(Fertilization too but most fertilization is already human made" Pollinators are going extinct, which will make it on a mass scale difficult to produce food. Temperature is rising globally, certain crops cannot survive the increase, we will lose crops, for example cocca and vanilla will soon go extinct Water is mostly human controlled, but the rate we use it for agriculture is unsustainable, we will eventually be forced to reduce the amount we use, limiting the amount of crops we can grow. On top of agriculture powerhouses becoming more arid, we lose land to even grow crops in

[@ano_nym]

@@declaringpond2276 that is still not extinction, which is what we are talking about here. A few millions could apparently survive as hunter gatherers today. With modern tech we could probably support quite a few even if we had to rely on indoor farming.

[@RobertA.Montgomery]

Can you do something like this on Pink Lake in Gatineau park of Quebec? Similar type lake

[@Aantjack]

5:40 Karlsplatz Vienna???

[@theahmedmustafa]

Vox had the chance to title this video "The debate over the Anthropocene, reviewed" and they missed it

[@Vex-MTG]

The start of the Holocene also marks the beginning of human impact on earth. It's when we started building cities. The Anthropocene feels like more of the latest stage in that, rather than an entirely new epoch

[@carlbennett2417]

The impact of continual exponential economic growth is much more pronounced since the 1950s than 10,000 years ago when the first cities were established.

[@Vex-MTG]

@@carlbennett2417 yes, which is why it would be reasonable to mark this as the start of a new stage in the Holocene. But epochs aren't measured in centuries.

[@danielsiddiqui5903]

Its literally like a timeline for our planet. What a great way for future humans to fix and solve problems that we may cause.

[@steve.santiago]

This video rocks!

[@pupdiogenes2548]

It does feel a little defeatist to assume we aren't going to turn ourselves around, but at the same time tens of thousands of years from now they'll still find when the radioactivity starts in the layers of rock sediment.

[@doctordothraki4378]

4:36 *Mainland Canada and mainland Russia:* imma head out

[@br0ckloeven]

Made me think of Burtynsky and his project on the Anthropocene

[@jasonkinzie8835]

It's only 70 years old but it is poised to last far longer than that. So perhaps determining geologic time periods shouldn't be based on how old a particular time period is and instead be based on how much the planet has changed from a particular demarcation point.

[@thomwg7452]

It feels sad how long we need to wait to define it as not just an anomaly, but imagine 1000 years in the future what they think about the early 21st century.

[@captainchaoscow]

Super interesting to learn about the geological timeline - Eons, Eras, Epoch. Do you know some good books or recources to learn more?