hope at the end of the world Jonny Rogers
W
hatever one believes about man’s purpose, it is clear that human activity plays a central role in shaping the composition, atmosphere, and inhabitants of our planet. Accordingly, ‘Anthropocene’ is a term used to describe the present geological epoch: one that is characterised by significant human impact on the planet’s climate and ecosystems. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the combined mass of all manmade objects, buildings and infrastructure totalled around 3% of the Earth’s biomass, or that of all plants, animals, and humans combined. According to one estimate, the beginning of this year saw the former exceed the latter. 1 Considering the exponential rise in the global population over the past few centuries, this shouldn’t be surprising: the early 1800s saw humanity surpass one billion, increasing almost eightfold as of the time of writing. 2 Incremental developments in medicine, transportation, and technology have enabled people to live, on average, longer and healthier lives. However, these same developments have also given us greater power for destruction. 1896 saw the discovery of radioactivity; 1945 saw the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the hands of nuclear weapons. Hypothetically, the actions of only a handful of people could, at any point, bring about the deaths of millions and mass disruption to currents systems of
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agricultural production.3 Even if nuclear weapons were to disappear tomorrow, we still face the reality of mass extinction, extreme weather events, and, of course, global pandemics. A recent report discovered that only 3% of the world’s terrestrial surface remains ecologically intact.4 Other studies have shown that animal species are presently going extinct at a faster rate than at any other point in history. 5
