Anthropocene

The Anthropocene is the name that many geologists have given to the latest “epoch” that planet earth is going through – the era of humans. Geological epochs are used by scientists to categorizes Earth’s history into hierarchical segments. Some of these segments – like the “Jurassic period” are more well known than others, but all are associated to profound changes in planet earth’s lifeforms, geology and planetary processes. By proposing the Anthropocene epoch, geologists acknowledge how much humans have changed the earth by altering the species present, but also the earth’s biogeochemical processes (by releasing massive amounts of fossil fuels into the atmosphere).