Gözde İloğlu
THE ANTHROPOCENE
Human beings have existed for just 200,000 years, yet our impact on the planetis so great that scientists around the world are calling for our period in the Earth’s history to be named the ‘Anthropocene’ – the age of humans. The changes we are now making have exacted a heavy toll on the natural world around us. It’s vital that people understand the impact we have.
Since the agricultural revolution some 12,000 years ago (when we started building cities and accumulating goods), human enterprise has steadily grown. However, our impact has surged dramatically over the past couple of centuries. This surge has since transformed into exponential growth, particularly since 1950. Now, the materials used by humans now weigh morethan all life on Earth – here’s four graphs that reveal our staggering impact onthe planet
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