The Trans-Scalar Challenge of Ecology

Abstract

Paul Crutzen's coining of the term “Anthropocene”1 to describe the current geological epoch has brought “scale” to the lips and keyboards of many an academic, from nearly every discipline. The idea that the human has become a geological force is a direct challenge to many of the scalar assumptions that Western culture holds most dear: that happiness and freedom are to be defined vis-a-vis the human individual, that the side effects of human deeds are contained and visible at the scale of their doers, that there is a realm of nature separate from the human, that the edifices of civilization are intentional and rational, that the biosphere is vast enough to absorb human exploitation and continue to feed capital’s insatiable hunger for raw materials, and that the future is ours for the making. Perhaps more shocking than the idea that the human has become a geological force, however, is the realization that this occurred without our noticing. No appeal to historical ice strata can answer the question, “why didn’t we notice this a long time ago?” or indeed, “why haven't we changed our behavior now that we do know?” My provisional answer to both questions, as presented in this essay, is not that we didn't possess the scientific knowledge of atmospheric carbon cycling or the byproducts of fossil fuel combustion, or that we hadn’t yet developed the technology to sample ice strata for atmospheric composition, or that we have not yet reached consensus on the results of our findings, but more fundamentally that we have failed to develop an adequate level of scale literacy.