The Anthropocene: How humans have pushed the planet into a new geological epoch.

The effects that humans have on the planet is so large that it has pushed us in a new geological era called 'the Anthropocene'. Our influence on nature equals the power normally unleashed by an asteroid striking the earth or the shift in tectonic plates. When did the 'Anthropocene' start and how long will it last?

The fact that we now know how much human activity influences the planet should allow us to be proactive and develop strategies to shape our world the way we wish it to be.

Professor Will Steffen talks about 'planetary boundaries' behind which we should not push the planet without risking an irreversible, abrupt shift. Others say that it is already too late to reverse course.

We can no longer speak of 'nature' as something separate from human influence. In the future, we have to think of nature as something we have to sustain, like tending to a garden. This is part of the new 'rewilding' movement, an effort to combat species extinction. A good example of this is the 'Oostvaarderplassen' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1GCkMrHc8I) in the Netherlands and the European Green Belt (http://www.europeangreenbelt.org/), formerly known as the Iron Curtain.

For further reading and viewing, please go to:

The Anthropocene: A man-made world (http://www.economist.com/node/18741749)

Can 'Rewilding' Restore Vanishing Ecosystems (http://www.ted.com/talks/george_monbiot_for_more_wonder_rewild_the_world?language=en)

Will Steffen - The Anthropocene (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABZjlfhN0EQ)

Wildlife in the Anthropocene: Conservation Without Nature (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhd3hJEcvEo)