Human impacts on the environment are of such magnitude that a new term has been suggested. The Anthropocene is a term proposed to label our current geological epoch, one that can be defined by the effects of humans on the global environment.
This term is not fully accepted within the literature, but it raises an interesting question. How large is the human impact on our environment? Regardless of whether one accepts the term Anthropocene, one must accept that humankind will remain a major environmental force for many millennia. As Paul J. Crutzen, a Nobel Prize winner in chemistry has emphasized, “a daunting task lies ahead for scientists and engineers to guide society towards environmentally sustainable management during the Anthropocene. This will require appropriate human behavior at all scales”.
This is not just a job for one group. I am an anthropologist, a social scientist. Anthropology is the study of human beings in all their biological and cultural complexities, both past and present, and in all places. Anthropology imparts an understanding of diversity and the reality of cultural differences. It teaches us to view topics from a perspective that is different from our own. Anthropology teaches us to think critically of our own cultural patterns without judging the patterns of others.
Human culture is defined as the collection of learned behaviors practiced by a particular group of people, and is an adaptive system for coping with the environment and each other. If our path towards environmental sustainability is about human behavior, every person on our planet must be informed on these issues.
The impact of the Anthropocene will be something we all will face.
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