Ever since Nobel Prizewinning atmospheric chemist Paul Crutzen coined the term "Anthropocene" to describe our current eraone in which human impact on the environment has pushed Earth into an entirely new geological epocharguments for and against the new designation have been raging. Finally, an official working group of scientists was created to determine once and for all whether we humans have tossed one too many plastic bottles out the car window and wrought a change so profound as to be on par with the end of the last ice age. In summer 2016, the answer came back: Yes.
In Making the Most of the Anthropocene, scientist Mark Denny tackles this hard truth head-on and considers burning questions: How did we reach our present technological and ecological state? How are we going to cope with our uncertain future? Will we come out of this, or are we doomed as a species? Is there anything we can do about what happens next? This book:
explains what the Anthropocene is and why it is important
offers suggestions for minimizing harm instead of fretting about an impending environmental apocalypse
combines easy-to-grasp scientific, technological, economic, and anthropological analyses
In Making the Most of the Anthopocene, there are no equations, no graphs, and no impenetrable jargon. Instead, you'll find a fascinating cast of characters, including journalists from outer space, peppered moths, and unjustly maligned Polynesians. In his bright, lively voice, Denny envisions a future that balances reaction and reason, one in which humanity emerges bloody but unbowedand in which those of us who are prepared can make the most of the Anthropocene.
Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Stratigraphythe Top Layer 2. Neptune versus Pluto 3. The Age of Man? 4. Martha 5. Industrial Revelations 6. Moore's Law 7. Building BRICS 8. Peppered Moths 9. Globalization 10. Smartphones Are (from) Everywhere 11. The Population Bomb 12. Manna from Science 13. Fat Americans 14. Climatology 101 15. Greenhouse Effects 16. Global Warning 17. 2 C or Not 2 C, That Is the Question 18. Tipping Points and Tipplers 19. Climate Change Protocols 20. Rapa Nui Not 21. Ozone Whole 22. The Good 23. The Bad 24. Frack Attack 25. The Ugly 26. Gridlock 27. Not Monsters, Inc., nor the Four Horsemen 28. Scottish Philosophy and Nuclear Power 29. You Suck at Statistics 30. On the Cusp 31. Four Fixes 32. Über Alles 33. Sherlock Holmes and the Anthropocene Deduction 34. Ferguson versus Krugman 35. Nobody Understands Economics 36. Winners and Losers 37. The Prisoner's Dilemma 38. Deforestation 39. The Peter Principle 40. Collective Stupidity 41. ABC but Not D 42. Where Are You Going, My Little One? Bibliography Index
""Denny's humane tone makes reading his book feel good for the soul... chapter-essays are fascinating, opinionated, and subversive... In this book, Denny has expanded his scope to cover a lot more than science, and readers will benefit from his ambition.""
