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The definition that the Anthropocene Working Group voted for makes sense from a geological perspective, but the conclusion that the mid-20th century marks the s
by swalling 3y ago
The definition that the Anthropocene Working Group voted for makes sense from a geological perspective, but the conclusion that the mid-20th century marks the start of humans significantly altering the natural world on a planetary scale is probably thousands of years off.
Key example: humans caused the extinction of 54%-67% of megafauna in the Americas and Australasia on our arrival during the late Pleistocene. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quaternary_extinction_event https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quaternary_extinction_event
Since we're just another animal that perceive time on a biological scale, not a geological one, the definition of these epochs is more academic than practically useful.