Have you heard the latest from the world of science? We are entering a new epoch.
For some 12,000 years, we have been living in the Holocene era, a stable and relative warm climate that has allowed the present world to develop. But on August 29, a working group of scientists at a meeting of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) in South Africa has recommended that, because of such human activity as deforestation, overfishing, species extinction, altering of the planet’s climate, and the spread of radioactive material as the result of nuclear testing, the Holocene should be considered over.
Normally, an epoch is judged to last millions of years, so if this decision is finalized by the entire IUGS, the Holocene will be the shortest in geological history. The new epoch will be the Anthropocene (from anthropo, for “man,” and cene, for “new”), defined by human activity and and our effect on Earth.
It’s just another sign of science’s concern for the future of our planet.
More information is all over the Internet.