Anthropocene refers to the unofficial unit of geologic time that describes the current state of the earth’s history due to human activities that have negatively impacted the climate and ecosystem. Human activities have led to international relations interventions to raise concerns about the state of climate change globally. Human impacts have reduced biodiversity, and adverse effects on the climate have been witnessed. Such human activities include pollution, deforestation, overharvest, and exploitation of natural resources.
Foreign policies have been formulated to protect the climate’s further degradation from safeguarding natural resources and protecting the extinction of endangered species worldwide, such as sharks. During the mushroom period of 1946, the atomic bomb at Bikini Atoll test on military personnel was a success but led to the destruction of the human species’ power.
Definition of Anthropocene
Earth history is divided into hierarchical times known as geologic time scale eons, eras, epochs, and ages. The time scale describes the rock layers, fossils, and strata of the earth’s surface where the layers are embedded. Examining a specific period helps scientists determine the exact period an organism came into existence on the earth based on the geologic period known as stratigraphy. The current geologic period is called the Holocene, which started 11,700 years ago after the last primary ice age (Wickman & Sherman, 2020).
Anthropocene is derived from two Greek words, ‘ anthro,’ which means man, while cene means new, which was investigated by chemist Paul Crutzen and biologist Eugene Stomer in 2000. There is a current debate on whether Holocene differs from Anthropocene, leading to conflicting ideas in the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), which describes epochs. Research is based on the significance of the human impact on the earth’s system compared to the rock strata. Climatic changes have resulted in rising sea levels, destruction of the ecosystem, and increased global warming. Most of the impact is associated with global warming, which is the significant impact of human activities on the earth’s surface. When did the Anthropocene begin?
Scientists argue that it originated during the 1800s when the industrial revolution emerged on the earth’s surface; the industrial revolution hurt the ecosystem due to increased greenhouse gas emissions resulting in global warming (Ellis & Ellis, 2018). Global warming has become a global crisis, and international relations have raised a concern about the impact by formulating Smart ecosystem policies whereby renewable energy sources have been campaigned to be integrated.
Besides, some other scientists believe that the Anthropocene period started in 1945 when the first atomic bomb was tested, resulting in a massive loss of lives and the destruction of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Bomb environment in Japan. Radioactive samples were detected globally on the soil sample, which affected the earth’s strata. However, in 2016, the Anthropocene Working Group revealed that the Anthropocene and Holocene are two different geological periods whereby Anthropocene began in the early 1950s when there was a dramatic exponential increase of human activities to as Great Acceleration (Waters, Zalasiewicz, Williams, Ellis, & Snelling, 2014).
Do human beings permanently change the planet? The question has resulted in a conflicting debate, with some people proposing while others oppose the concept. Human activities have altered Earth due to the increased global industrial revolution. For example, increased mining activities have destroyed the earth’s crust’s underlying layers. According to IUGS, the Anthropocene has resulted in environmental hazards, which sparked increased scientific research. For example, Elsevier published various articles on the Anthropocene, which he named Anthropocene. IUGS (2016) convened a meeting to determine whether the Holocene was over, and we are now at Anthropocene geological time. However, the research has received constructive criticism from some Stratigraphers, arguing there is no clear empirical evidence to validate we are in the new geological period.
Whitney Autin, a stratigrapher of SUNY College of Brockport Anthropocene, was more of a human population than hard science. He wanted justification for a specific period when human activities started to have an impact on the planet. For example, it has been argued that the atomic bomb left traces of radioactive elements on the soils across the globe (Ellis & Ellis, 2018). In contrast, the agriculture signature in Europe can be traced during A.D.900 years ago. In comparison, Autin claimed he must be served with factual data, such as bare-bones facts related to the study.
Will Steffen, the head of Australia National University Climate Change Institute, published articles arguing that the epoch started during the 1800s due to the industrial revolution or 1950s due to the atomic bomb impact. He further stated that we are experiencing a new geological period whereby human activities have changed the global climate, and the results are devastating and undeniable to the people. A New York Times reporter, Andrew Revkin (1992) stated that cyanobacteria oxygenated the atmosphere two billion years ago and adversely affected the planet (Waters, Zalasiewicz, Williams, Ellis, & Snelling, 2014). The research was meant to distinguish us from the other geological epochs to indicate that a new era had already started.
The human impact can be traced to biodiversity as the major contributing factor of the Anthropocene. The human population has resulted in the extinction of the earth’s biodiversity. It’s agreeable that human activities have resulted in the extinction of many species across the globe due to poaching, overharvesting, exploitation of natural resources, and increased emissions into the atmosphere (Wickman & Sherman, 2020). For example, marine phytoplankton has declined exponentially over the previous centuries in the sea. Most scientists argue that planet biodiversity could have grown exponentially without human activities.
The relevance of Anthropocene based on International Theory
International relations theory describes theoretical perspectives in the state and is rationally applicable in political science. The Theory describes international relations from which foreign policies are formulated. Realism is the first theoretical approach that applies to international relations. The Theory states that states are working to improve their power as they believe strong and powerful states could thrive over less powerful nations. Such countries gain control through political, social, and economic imperatives (Matthews & Callaway, 2019). For example, the impact of the Industrial Revolution resulted in the formation of treaties across the globe to safeguard the environment.
Crutzen stated that the Industrial Revolution was the primary cause of the Anthropocene, resulting from the first application of the Newcomen atmospheric engine in 1972. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, it agreed that the pre-industrial era was the baseline for the changes on the planet, which ushered in the Industrial Revolution and resulted in unprecedented global human impact on the earth’s surface. Human activities have modified the earth’s landscape despite deplorable adverse effects.
Second, the theory of liberalism states that the belief in the global system can engender a peaceful global order. The Theory upholds the use of international cooperation as a strategy to improve the interests of particular states (Matthews & Callaway, 2019). For example, policies have been formulated to protect endangered species such as hammerhead sharks facing extinction due to human activities according to NOAA fisheries, which is committed to protecting the biodiversity of hammerhead sharks.
Overall, the Anthropocene geological time is evident. It has come to pass under the current world. Human impact has resulted in climate change, which has destroyed biodiversity and affected soil layers. The period is traced from the industrial revolution, the 1880s and 1950s, the first atomic bomb. The relevance of Anthropocene has being supported by liberalism and realism international relation theories.
References #
Ellis, E., & Ellis, E. C. (2018). Anthropocene: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Matthews, E., & Callaway, R. (2019). International Relations Theory: A Primer. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Waters, Zalasiewicz, Williams, Ellis, & Snelling. (2014). A Stratigraphical Basis for the Anthropocene. London: Geological Society of London.
Wickman, M., & Sherman, J. (2020). Faith after the Anthropocene. Basel: MDPI.
