Anthropocene Blues: Abundance, Energy, Limits
Since fossil fuel consumption has been integral to the project of modernity, energy history offers one way of trying to understand the Anthropocene and link the histories of capital and climate.
Since fossil fuel consumption has been integral to the project of modernity, energy history offers one way of trying to understand the Anthropocene and link the histories of capital and climate.
LeCain provides a detailed analysis of Chakrabarty’s “Four Theses” and its implications for humanism. This thinking diverges from that of Western Enlightenment by challenging the humanistic belief that we are separate from, even above, the material world. In fact, human culture is inextricably linked to the natural material world; we are both a force and product of it.
This essay examines what the concept of the Anthropocene means for environmental law and policy. Humans can be viewed as both insider and outsider—as an integral part of nature, which we have a duty to protect, and as lord and master of the natural world, taking what we can for our own survival. Eagle explores how the choice of an insider or outsider view can influence political discussions regarding environmental regulation.
Chakrabarty responds to the contributors of this volume by addressing five issues he considers fundamental to discussions on climate change.
Kluiving and Hamel explore why the Anthropocene emerged. They suggest that an analysis of global changes in human niche construction using geoarchaeological data offers new perspectives on the causes and effects of the Anthropocene.
Goodbody examines the literary work Pandaemonium and its role in a research project to promote debate on climate change.
This volume addresses our understanding of the Anthropocene and its challenges, and suggests that multidisciplinarity and storytelling play key roles in devising resilient solutions.
Jan Zalasiewicz presents the mounting evidence of the Anthropocene as a proposed geological epoch and points to the possible trajectories of planet Earth.
Julia Adeney Thomas explores three types of narrative that are emerging as people try to get to grips with the Anthropocene and their potential for steering our future course.