The geologic time scale

1. GEO 162 – IntroductionPresent cartoon of the Neolithic Revolution. Outline pros and cons.Anthropocene. List pros and cons, an how they are uneven. Note that different diseases are more common now in developed countries because of the Anthropocene.

8. The geologic time scale

9. The timeline of modern humans and their impacts • 150 – 200,000 ya: emergence of anatomically modern humans in Africa • 65,000 ya: humans begin dispersing out of Africa • Two “revolutions” although their timing, location, and extent vary over the globe • 40,000 ya:- Upper Paleolithic Revolution • 12,000 ya - Neolithic revolution • Less dependence upon hunting-gathering • Domestication of crops • Permanent settlements • Systems of writing and legal codes • Approximately 200 ya: start of the Anthropocene

11. The Anthropocene • Stage 1: The Industrial Revolution (1800 - 1945)

12. Stage 2: The Great Acceleration • Timed with post World War 2 economic expansion

13. Stage 3: 2000 to present • Marked by growing awareness of limits to resources and their consumption • Earth ecosystems are recognized as being dominated by humans

14. Relative measure of mass transport of natural and human processes

15. Impacts of Anthropocene Energy use Life expectancy

16. Impacts of Anthropocene • Marked by pervasive uneven development • Improved living standards for some of the world • Negative externalities (costs) of this development passed along to those who may not benefit

17. Environmental issues • Environmental issues have a political, cultural, and economic basis • Each is unique, but still a basis for their similarity • Debates over causes of and solutions to environmental issues arise because of differences related to: • Epistemology • Ontology • Discourses

18. Epistemology • A group or individual’s understandings about what it is that we can know about the world. • These understandings determine the type of knowledge claims we can make. • Local or traditional knowledge versus scientific knowledge

20. Epistemology • Three basic epistemologies • Knowledge as mechanistic • Knowledge as contingent • Knowledge as narrative • Each have different perspectives on the idea of prediction and subjectivity

22. Ontology • Schemes for labeling entities and processes • An ontology is a specification of a conceptualization. • How we label things and specify meaning to them influences how we respond to and work with them

25. Ontology • An ontology is a specification of a conceptualization. How can these terms reflect a particular cultural specification? • Species • Hurricane • Statistically significant chance

26. Discourse • Knowledge claims and positions on issues arise and become entrenched through stories we tell or are told • Discourses affect our views on all things; it is not possible to avoid discourse.

27. Discourse • Can be mobilized as a form of persuasion or propaganda • Discourse analysis: interpreting how meaning and knowledge claims are created

28. Two discourses about fishing These discourses seem logical, but can you think of the ways in which they might overlook more of the complexity of the world?

29. Who’s Killing the Monk Seals? • Epistemologies • Mechanistic: monk seals can be managed and their numbers restored. Actions by agencies can impact number of seals and where they are • Contingent: monk seals and their behaviors will defy attempts to manage them.

30. Who’s Killing the Monk Seals? • Ontologies • Native versus non-native • Monk seal classified as native by some, non-native by the other • Which specification you take impacts future decisions about monk seal conservation

31. Who’s Killing the Monk Seals? • Popular discourses that are challenged in this reading • Indigenous cultures as pro-conservation and protective of native flora and fauna • Conservative politics are anti-environmental • Large megafauna cannot life in proximity to humans