Current Anthropocene Research Articles

Technology, law and ethics: regulating the risks of the anthropocene

This research analyses and examines the key themes of technology, law, and ethics when considering the environmental threats and opportunities associated with the proposed epoch of Anthropocene. The paper explores the nature of emerging technologies as containing the solution to one crisis and raising new worries and ethical considerations for another, for instance, geoengineering and renewable energy. A large emphasis is made on the effectiveness of various international environmental treaties such as the Paris Accord and the Kyoto Protocol in addressing Technological development is a realm where change is constant, and it tends to progress faster than the legal framework, for instance, the Paris Accord and Kyoto Protocol. The research compares the normative principles used in tackling technologies with uncertain long-term impacts including the precautionary principle, sustainable development and the Common but Differentiated Responsibilities. This research engages doctrinal legal analysis and case-study approaches to geoengineering and renewable energy respectively as a qualitative method to reveal and map gaps in the governance of geoengineering, and to understand and present ethical issues of generational equity and justice and the weakness of regulatory frameworks. It offers practical advice on how the advancement of technology should be made compatible with ecological responsibility, the key topic of the current Anthropocene era is the blueprint of strong legal frameworks as well as ethical solution.

Human Environment

The relationship between humans and the environment is a complex and dynamic interplay that has evolved over millennia. This paper explores the multifaceted interactions between human societies and their surrounding ecosystems, emphasizing the profound impacts of human activities on the environment and vice versa. As human populations have grown and technological advancements have accelerated, the scale and intensity of environmental impacts have increased, leading to significant challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. The study begins by tracing the historical development of human-environment interactions, highlighting key periods such as the Agricultural Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, and the current Anthropocene epoch. Each period is characterized by distinct environmental impacts and societal responses, providing a framework for understanding contemporary environmental issues. The paper then delves into the concept of sustainability, examining how it has emerged as a crucial paradigm in addressing the environmental crisis. Sustainable development goals and practices are discussed, illustrating how they aim to balance economic growth, social well-being, and environmental protection. Central to the discussion is the notion of environmental ethics and the role of cultural values in shaping human attitudes and behaviors towards the environment. The paper reviews various ethical frameworks, including anthropocentrism, biocentrism, and ecocentrism, and their implications for environmental policy and management. By analyzing case studies from different parts of the world, the paper demonstrates how cultural perspectives influence environmental decision-making and outcomes. Furthermore, the paper addresses the challenges and opportunities presented by environmental governance. It explores the roles of governmental and non-governmental organizations, international agreements, and community-based initiatives in promoting environmental stewardship. Special attention is given to the concept of adaptive management, which emphasizes flexibility and learning in addressing environmental uncertainties. The paper concludes by proposing a holistic approach to human-environment interactions, advocating for integrated strategies that recognize the interdependence of social, economic, and ecological systems. By fostering collaboration across disciplines and sectors, and by embracing a long-term perspective, humanity can work towards a more sustainable and resilient future. This exploration of the human environment underscores the urgency of rethinking our relationship with the natural world. It calls for a collective commitment to sustainable practices that respect the intrinsic value of the environment while ensuring the well-being of present and future generations.

“The Sea Has Waves, The Fula Has Cows”: Moving Waters, Labour and Capital in Anthropocene Senegal

In times of climate crisis, water has become a crucial resource of environmental justice and geopolitics, but its scarcity is socially constructed. It depends on socio-economic structures, cultural politics, and the sciences that are mobilized to manage its fluid processes. This essay argues for the necessity of a hydrosociological approach that integrates the current Anthropocene debates on the technological transformation of planet Earth with more reflection on waterscapes, especially in the Global South. Drawing on a recent publication by Maura Benegiamo, Capitalist developments in the Senegal Delta are here considered as exemplary of global investment strategies that produce brutal forms of extractivism, while displacing money, water, land, and people. Waterscapes reengineering of the Senegal flows, for the monocrop production of agrofuel, is alienating the Fula people of the Sahel the grazing land for their cattle. Such case calls for a political reassessment of the hydrosocial question of the Anthropocene along complementary lines of inquiry: socio-economic, cultural-political, ideological, and epistemological.

Sustainable hospitality and tourism in the Anthropocene era: the need for a more radical shift of the current circular economy models

PurposeThis paper aims to critically analyse the circular economy (CE) models adopted in hospitality and tourism to tackle societal challenges in the current Anthropocene era, exploring the driving values and sustainability approaches.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review was carried out with an increasing level of analysis to delve more in-depth into the ability of the CE models to respond to current societal challenges. The review involved a stepwise analysis, starting with a thematic analysis of 151 papers to create a conceptual structure map of circular hospitality and tourism literature. Based on originality and representativeness, 22 papers were selected and analysed according to Hoffman and Jennings’ (2018; 2021) institutional approach to sustainability, which entails specific archetypes to address the Anthropocene society: market rules, technology fix and cultural re-enlightening.FindingsThe hospitality and tourism industry has made progress towards implementing CE models. However, CE models in market role and technology fix archetypes may fail to address the current challenges of the Anthropocene era. New culture-led approaches within the cultural re-enlightening archetype, such as the regenerative land practices, a-growth and place-making, and circular society, can foster a more radical shift towards strong sustainability.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper highlights the urgent need for a cultural shift towards radical and strong sustainability, identifying future research directions. Policymakers have a crucial role in shaping sustainability practices consistent with an ecological culture centred on acknowledging planetary boundaries.Originality/valueDespite the increasing interest in CE models, it is still debated how the hospitality and tourism industry can continue to thrive while avoiding harmful impacts on the environment and local communities. The study critically reflects on the current contribution of CE models towards strong sustainability in hospitality and tourism.

The Political Economy of Trade, Work, and Economy: De-globalization – or Re-globalization?

Abstract What forces will shape the global future? We begin with discussion of the central roles of globalization and the ecologically destructive Anthropocene and then move onto more current popular and political debates about questions of unchallengeable globalization versus de-globalization and re-globalization. We side with the former. The broad story is how historical global capitalism, with different leading core states or hegemons, inexorably pushed global society into an increasingly tight related connected world-economy, meshed together by commodity webs and supply chains that linked increasingly far-flung locations, geologies, landscapes, and ecosystems. The vision is one of a world-system, embedded to a large degree on market and nation-state capitalism and political power, conflict, and cooperation, that grows more and more tightly integrated, spatially widespread, and ecologically destructive as it expanded for six hundred years. We disagree with a fundamental “break” from the old political economy view. In fact, we are confident that today’s current Anthropocene global consciousness remains – with major concern with climate change and worldwide pandemics. There is little doubt that worldwide globalization is not only needed but essentially inescapable.

Exploring Alternative Futures in the Anthropocene

Many challenges posed by the current Anthropocene epoch require fundamental transformations to humanity's relationships with the rest of the planet. Achieving such transformations requires that humanity improve its understanding of the current situation and enhance its ability to imagine pathways toward alternative, preferable futures. We review advances in addressing these challenges that employ systematic and structured thinking about multiple possible futures (futures-thinking). Over seven decades, especially the past two, approaches to futures-thinking have helped people from diverse backgrounds reach a common understanding of important issues, underlying causes, and pathways toward optimistic futures. A recent focus has been the stimulation of imagination to produce new options. The roles of futures-thinking in breaking unhelpful social addictions and in conflict resolution are key emerging topics. We summarize cognitive, cultural, and institutional constraints on the societal uptake of futures-thinking, concluding that none are insurmountable once understood.

Animals in International Relations: a research agenda

Animals are integral to world politics, yet largely neglected in International Relations (IR). This Special Issue (SI) aims to address this gap and offers a collection of original research articles that investigate issues pertaining to sovereignty, power, diplomacy, the ethics of war, justice and emancipation, environmental governance, activism and international law. The articles make animals visible within those realms, raise novel questions and develop approaches through which the specific role(s) of animals and human-animal relations in international politics may be theoretically understood and empirically explored. They open a conversation between IR and Critical Animal Studies (CAS). The SI contributes to a broader understanding of the complex and interconnected nature of human-animal relations, and therefore to the reorientation of IR towards a post-anthropocentric perspective of world politics that renders the field better equipped to understand and address our current Anthropocene predicament. To introduce the SI, this article starts by addressing the invisibility of animals in IR and why this is problematic. It then provides an overview of the articles included in the SI and concludes by outlining a research agenda for the study of animals in IR.

Bruno Latour and Actor-Network-Anthropocene

Bruno Latour (1947-2022) was a prominent philosopher who critically interpreted the Anthropocene discourse. In this article, I highlight the impact of his legacy, particularly in political and philosophical Anthropocene debates. I attempt to position Latour’s critical philosophical thinking legacy within the framework of Anthropocene debates. Bruno Latour has a strong position in explaining current Anthropocene issues, especially related to actor and network reposition, political Gaia, and criticism of the new climate change regime. However, despite the Anthropocene debate, I position Latour’s notion as an entry point to open up explanations concerning the ontology of Anthropocene that can begin by understanding Latour’s breakthroughs in the context of surpassing the metaphysical demarcation of subject/object by radicalizing pluralistic ontology. Instead of glorifying flat ontology, this article aims to emphasize the possibility of affirming the hybrid world of the Anthropocene by pluriversalizing the lifeworld.

Theological Genealogies of Modernity: An Introduction

Theological Genealogies of Modernity: An Introduction

Secundum Naturam Vivere: Stoic Thoughts of Greco-Roman Antiquity on Nature and Their Relation to the Concepts of Sustainability, Frugality, and Environmental Protection in the Anthropocene

This paper wants to shed light on the way the philosophical school of Stoicsm in Greco-Roman antiquity has dealt with the relationship of men and nature by pointing out to some of the key texts in which these issues are mentioned. Although the modern concept of sustainability or environmental protection did not really exist in antiquity, the Stoa was convinced that individual decisions had a direct impact on this world. Following the concept of environmental humanities, the ancient texts and authors are collected as historical ideas of the multifaceted interactions between nature and men that can be fruitfully mirrored with the arguments of the current Anthropocene discourse and its focus on (post)industrialism. By doing so we might come across helpful approaches deeply rooted in our cultural heritage that we could possibly adopt and find practical answers for our age in terms of individual behaviour as well as management decisions to face the ecological and social challenges ahead.

Land-use changes interact with geology to facilitate dispersal of the rock hyrax (Procavia capensis) and leishmaniasis across Israel and the West Bank.

Geology plays a fundamental role in establishing species' habitats, determining both physical (e.g., landscape morphology, soil texture) and chemical (e.g., mineral composition, water availability) properties. In the current Anthropocene epoch, human activity is transforming Earth's geology and ecosystems. Yet to date, there have been almost no studies incorporating geology when examining the effect of such land-use changes on species distribution. This study seeks to uncover how specific land-use changes interact with geology, in order to explain the recent and rapid expansion of the rock hyrax (Procavia capensis) across the mountains of central Israel and the West Bank. Hyraxes are dependent on rock mounds for their habitat, and their expansion seems to be correlated with increasing infrastructure construction. However, their expansion patterns differ among locations, even when the human land-use is similar. To explain the patterns of hyrax distribution observed over the past 46 years, we converted geological data into ecological data, which present the probability of the local bedrock breaking into boulders, whether due to either natural or anthropogenic weathering processes. We applied species distribution models (SDMs) and found that the expansion of rock hyrax populations was facilitated by means of the interaction of specific geological units with land-use practices (e.g., roads and construction), which resulted in the accumulation of large boulders, creating novel habitats and stepping stones in previously unsuitable areas for hyraxes. Since rock hyraxes are major hosts of the leishmaniasis pathogen, the findings from this study offer important insights into the progression and potential outbreaks of the disease in human populations. Understanding the role that geology plays in shaping a species' niche is expected to prove useful in studying the distribution of other wildlife species and is fundamental in studies seeking to predict the potential ecological impacts on local biodiversity associated with land-use change.

Scientists warning on the ecological effects of radioactive leaks on ecosystems

A nuclear leakage or tactical nuclear weapon use in a limited war could cause immense and long-lasting ecological consequences beyond the direct site of exposure. We call upon all scientists to communicate the importance of the environmental impacts of such an event to all life forms on Earth, including humankind. Changes to ecosystem structure and functioning and species extinctions would alter the biosphere for an unknown time frame. Radiation could trigger cascade effects in marine, atmospheric and terrestrial ecosystems of a magnitude far beyond human capabilities for mitigation or adaptation. Even a “tactical nuclear war” could alter planet Earth’s living boundaries, ending the current Anthropocene era.

Ghostbusting in the Late Anthropocene

This paper examines the latent ecocriticism of the horror-comedy Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) against its original source material in the context of climate catastrophe culture. As a sequel to the Ghostbusters films (1984, 1989), Afterlife shifts the setting: (geo)physically, from metropolitan New York City to a ‘dirt farm’ in Summerville, Oklahoma, and generationally, from the original middle-aged, male ghost-catchers to the teenaged grandchildren of the brightest among them. While the original antagonist – the (fictive) Sumerian god Gozer – returns once more to end the world, the Anthropo(s)cenic landscapes of Afterlife establish the film as a geopolitical intervention in the debate on the already-in-progress environmental apocalypse. In its (partial) rejection of the values of its 1980s-era source material, which is critically assessed herein, I argue that Afterlife speaks to humanity’s emergence as a geological agent defined by geopolitical cultures rooted in human exploitation, hydrocarbon extraction, agro-industrialisation, and nuclearism. Indeed, the decade of Reaganism haunts the film, serving as a ghostly reminder of how we arrived at our current Anthropocene predicament through white heteropatriarchal triumphalism, neoliberal excess, and ecocide.

Paradigm shifts for a planetary emergency: Towards an anthropocenography for urban coastal research at False Bay, Cape Town, South Africa

Reflecting on a recent three-decade review of the social-ecological sciences of False Bay in Cape Town that was co-authored by 32 South African based scientists, this essay draws on current Anthropocene scholarship in the environmental humanities and social sciences to suggest four approaches to strengthening transdisciplinarity engagement between social and natural sciences. First, the material flows between the fields categorised as ‘nature’ and ‘society’ is suggested as an alternative empirical base for integrative transdisciplinary research, building on emergent transdisciplinary fields including industrial ecology, biogeochemical sciences, circular economics and critical zone scholarship. Second, a humanities-informed conversation in South African scholarship invites discussion as to whether and how the conceptual categories of nature and society remain empirically useful, given the evidence in Anthropocene stratigraphy that human living is terra-forming. Third, humanities scholarship is vital for the scholarly assessment of historical and contemporary data sets and scientific publications. Fourth, the theorisation of ‘social systems’, ‘the human’, ‘society’, and ‘ecosystem services’ in the social-ecological approaches represented in the review, create a barrier for social scientists to take up invitations to transdisciplinary research partnerships. The above concerns, taken together, frame an alternative approach to transdisciplinary research that is tentatively suggested as an ‘anthropocenography’: a research paradigm based on material flows in the Anthropocene. Significance: Innovations in transdisciplinary research that attend to material flows are evident in multiple emerging fields that address the Anthropocene, including biogeosciences, industrial ecology, urban metabolism, circular economies, and critical zone sciences. Responding to a 30-year review of the sciences of False Bay, I argue that these new research fields, which encompass earth sciences, biosciences and applied sciences, offer generative linkages to emerging scholarship in environmental social sciences and humanities that also attend to material flows. Linking social and natural sciences via material flows is therefore suggested as a generative approach to transdisciplinarity.

The Return of the Dialectics of Nature

Abstract The resurrection of the classical Marxian ecological critique in the context of the current planetary emergency has led to the return of the concept of the dialectics of nature, associated with the work of Frederick Engels in particular. In the century following the deaths of Charles Darwin and Karl Marx, the dialectics-of-nature conception played a formative role in the development of the modern ecological critique within science, notably in Britain, and helped inspire the contemporary environmentalist movement. Nevertheless, all of this occurred outside the dominant streams of Marxian thought and practice, where a great chasm had arisen in this area. Whereas official Marxism in the Soviet Union reduced the dialectics of nature to a fixed dogma, Western Marxism rejected it altogether. In the current Anthropocene Epoch in the geological time scale – and in what is referred to here as the Capitalinian Age of the Anthropocene – a new historical-materialist synthesis constructed on classical foundations, reintegrating the dialectics of nature, so as to address the immense ecological challenges confronting humanity, is seen as objectively (and subjectively) necessary.

Discovering earth and the missing masses—technologically informed education for a post-sustainable future

Climate change education (CCE) and environmental education (EE) seek ways for us humans to keep inhabiting Earth. We present a thought experiment adopting the perspective of Earth-settlers, aiming to illuminate the planetary mass of technology. By elaborating Hannah Arendt’s notion of ‘earth alienation’ and Bruno Latour’s notion of technology as ‘missing mass’, we suggest that, in the current Anthropocene era, our relation to technology should be a crucial theme of CCE and EE. We further suspect that sustainable development (SD) and the education promoting it (ESD) are problematic, because the green growth proposed is inextricably linked to the unattainable goal of decoupling growth from environmental impact. We therefore suggest education for post-sustainability (EPS) that critically re-evaluates the connections between technology and sustainability. But can educators critically question technology, since educational institutions seem to be unconditionally committed to promoting technological progress? While tracing this professional dilemma, we call for educational responsibility and autonomy to question technology when it is at odds with sustainability. To this end, we outline technological literacy that introduces the arts of (a) seeing technology, (b) living with technology, and (c) delegating or sustainably assimilating technology.

Living walls enhancing the urban realm: a review

In the current Anthropocene epoch, globalization and urbanization have adversely affected our environment causing global warming. To counter the adverse effects of global warming, research is being conducted into many innovative technologies to identify viable solutions. This paper will focus on one such solution, Living walls and how the built form is enriched by the environmental and psychological benefits provided by Living walls. Buildings with Living walls have lively surroundings which enhance the urban fabric. This review paper shall elaborate on the effects of Living walls on the built environment in the urban realm and analyze how Living walls improve the urban fabric in terms of activity and behavior pattern, streetscape and building frontage.

Rethinking Organizations and Society from an Ethical Perspective

Abstract Contemporary organizations and societies have witnessed a return of ethical issues for several decades – with the ecological issue occupying center stage among its many contributing factors. In fact, the current Anthropocene era requires urgent ethics-based appropriate action. In this article, after recalling the meaning of ethics, we discuss how ethics is associated with many capacities, and how an ethics of finitude can aid organizations and societies put into practice a true sustainable development, which is now indispensable for our collective survival. From this ethical perspective, we invite individuals, citizens, organizations, societies, and the world to enact social radical change 1

Mass Extinctions in the history of Life: Significance of NASA’s Artemis Moon and Planetary Defence DART Missions

Evolution and extinction of new species have gone hand in hand since life began on Earth. However, there have been at least five episodes of large-scale extinctions of life-forms in the past 500 million years. In these episodes, more than three-quarters of the existing species got eliminated. These are referred to as global extinction or mass extinction. The Fifth Mass Extinction was the last such episode that occurred about 65 million years ago in Cretaceous period. This was caused due to asteroid impact. The resulting conditions led to the elimination of dinosaurs from the face of Earth. In the current Anthropocene period (i.e., the period of humanity), it is suspected that the Earth may already be in or on the verge of Sixth Mass Extinction, due to man-made environmental issues (such as climate change, pollution, deforestation, global warming, etc.). Further factors like nuclear, biological or other types of warfare/conflict, natural environmental disasters such as volcanic eruption or asteroid impact also have the potential to trigger mass extinction. Spreading out into space is one of the ways to deal with existential challenges posed. NASA’s Artemis Moon Mission is a beginning towards deep space human habitation by future colonisation of the Moon and Mars. Planetary defence by deflecting an asteroid away from the Earth is another strategy being considered. NASA’s DART Mission is the first such asteroid deflection test. This mission will try to deflect a near-Earth asteroid next month.

Rethinking Organizations and Society from an Ethical Perspective

Abstract Contemporary organizations and societies have witnessed a return of ethical issues for several decades – with the ecological issue occupying center stage among its many contributing factors. In fact, the current Anthropocene era requires urgent ethics-based appropriate action. In this article, after recalling the meaning of ethics, we discuss how ethics is associated with many capacities, and how an ethics of finitude can aid organizations and societies put into practice a true sustainable development, which is now indispensable for our collective survival. From this ethical perspective, we invite individuals, citizens, organizations, societies, and the world to enact social radical change 1