I first came across the concept of the Anthropocene in my environmental history class, and I found it terrifying. The idea that human beings have become something equivalent to a geological force, leaving permanent marks on the planet and thus arguably constituting a new geological epoch after the Holocene points to how we have essentially moved past the tipping point. There is no natural system regulating us anymore -- we are the destruction itself. As the popular Earth Day slogan goes, "We Have Met The Enemy, And He Is Us".

Sometimes, I just wish there were no truth to the Anthropocene — if only we were no more than tiny unassuming creatures on a planet that knows better than us! Yet the reality seems to be that we are pretty damn powerful, for better or for worse. With this power, comes the responsibility to yield it as a force for good...

Meanwhile, another part of me believes that power itself is the problem. To assume humans have the capacity to know what it even means to “shape” or “engineer” the earth towards a “good future” could turn out to just be a path of arrogance. True ecological healing means surrendering our power, not further proclaiming it.

Either way, I do think that the Anthropocene gives us a sense of agency — the most important ingredient of hope. Perhaps it’s a balance of both surrender and control...

Here are some resources I found useful:

  1. https://steps-centre.org/blog/time-to-reign-back-the-anthropocene/
  2. https://steps-centre.org/blog/seeing-the-anthropocene-as-a-responsibility/
  3. https://steps-centre.org/blog/reigning-back-the-anthropocene-is-hard-but-earths-worth-it/