A study of Ecological crisis in the world's history

Abstract

This age has been dubbed the Anthropocene and, more importantly, Humanity's relationship to the natural world has emerged as the dominating notion. Advocating the Anthropocene is seen by some as a "answer formulation," an analytical tool that helps us understand how our actions have affected the environment, as well as a conceptual framework from which we can launch mitigation and adaptation strategies that promise to alleviate or at least engage in ecological crises. To be clear, the Anthropocene is not a neutral notion that simply highlights the linkages between human activity and the natural world; rather, it is a lens through which we might see our place in the universe. Anthropocene studies are becoming increasingly important, as are the questions they raise about human impact on nature and the environment, as well as the long-term consequences of operating within this imaginary. This is especially true as the term "Anthropocene" gains currency in academic and political circles. As a political/analytical prism, the Anthropocene rests on flawed conceptions of nature, history and humanity that render it an ineffective construct from which to respond to ecological crises; it offers only partial and presumptive "solutions" in the form of increased governmental regulation and the application of manifold technological "fixes" through the geoengineering of Earth's systems in an attempt to address isolated aspects of ecological destruction.