Anthropocene, the challenge for Homo Sapiens to set its own limits
| dc.contributor.author | Valladares, F. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Magro, S. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Martin Fores, I. | |
| dc.date.issued | 2019 | |
| dc.description.abstract | The Anthropocene as a distinct geological era has been the subject of active discussion within the scientific community. This era includes the notion that Homo sapiens has had a large impact on global planetary processes. Here, we aim at connecting the notion and nature of the Anthropocene with the social-economic success and the unexpected or unplanned environmental impacts of the anthropogenic activity. Some of the main achievements along the history of humankind have been important developmental steps for many human civilisations but they have also had undesired results that we could not foresee, including the rise of greenhouse gases emissions, the shifts in the area of species distributions or the affection of all major biogeochemical cycles. Increasing human life expectancy and health has promoted an exponential population growth, which together with the increased environmental footprint per capita has pushed many core variables for Earth functioning (e.g. biodiversity, nitrogen cycle, climate change) out of their safety limits. We illustrate examples of many ecosystems that have collapsed around the world because we have crossed the limits of their sustainable exploitation. Paradoxically, it is humanity itself who is pushing the Planet to conditions in which our own survival will unlikely be possible. The reason behind such a strong ecological and functional impact on the Planet within a relatively short space of time is an unsustainable economic system based on the assumption that a perpetual economic growth is not only possible but also desirable. Our awakening should lie on a global framework aimed at changing our relationship with the Planet. | |
| dc.description.statementofresponsibility | F. Valladares, S. Magro, I. Martín-Forés | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Cuadernos de Investigación Geográfica, 2019; 45(1):33-59 | |
| dc.identifier.doi | 10.18172/cig.3681 | |
| dc.identifier.issn | 0211-6820 | |
| dc.identifier.issn | 1697-9540 | |
| dc.identifier.orcid | Martin Fores, I. [0000-0003-3627-0347] | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/2440/145680 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | Universidad de La Rioja | |
| dc.rights | © Universidad de La Rioja. The authors retain copyright of articles and authorize Cuadernos de Investigación Geográfica / Geographical Research Letters the first publication. They are free to share and redistribute the article without obtaining permission from the publisher as long as they give appropriate credit to the editor and the journal. Self-archiving is allowed too. In fact, it is recommendable to deposit a PDF version of the paper in academic and/or institutional repositories. It is recommended to include the DOI number. This journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License | |
| dc.source.uri | https://doi.org/10.18172/cig.3681 | |
| dc.subject | Anthropocene; biodiversity; climate change; drought; environmental impact; erosion; biogeochemical cycles; global change; invasive species; planetary limits; sustainable development | |
| dc.title | Anthropocene, the challenge for Homo Sapiens to set its own limits | |
| dc.type | Journal article | |
| pubs.publication-status | Published |
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