Friday, March 13, 2015
Newly Named Anthropocene Era Documents Human Geological Impact
Barry, My Liege :
Just in case you were wondering whether we humans have actually made an impact on the planet, a new study has documented our fossil record.
Although it does not move the Doomsday Clock since it is merely assigning a name to an event recognized previously, it is an indication that human activity has made provable geological changes.
We seem to be entering a new geological era where human activity dominates the planet.
The new era is called the Anthropocene Era.
The record includes proof that human activity is leaving permanent geological markers of irreversible global changes.
Introducing European colonists into the New World caused a die-off of some 50 million people beginning about 1500 AD and perhaps peaking around 1610 AD.
As stated in the Motherboard review by Becky Ferreira, Contributor, the study co-authors are geologists from University College, London, Simon Lewis and Mark Maslin; they told Motherboard :
"This dramatic crash of an agriculturally sophisticated population resulted in mass abandonment of farmland. As wildlife reclaimed these regions, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels noticeably dropped, due to the uptick in carbon storage as a result of reforestation."
Your faithful servant,