Welcome to the Anthropocene

Reinhold Leinfelder, HdZ Berlin. Przemiany Festival, Kopernikus, Warszawa, 4. Sept. 2015
Welcome to the Anthropocene!
Prof. Dr. Reinhold Leinfelder
Haus der Zukunft gGmbH (House of the Future), Berlin
Anthropocene Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin
Cluster of Excellence Image Knowledge Gestaltung, Berlin
Please respect copyright – for personal use only, please ask if you want to use slides, thank you!

Martyna Zalatyte, University of the Arts Berlin ,
(In: A. Hamann, H. Wagenbreth, H. Trischler, R. Leinfelder,
2014
Geology of Mankind –
The Anthropocene
„We live in the
Anthropocene“
Paul Crutzen

„Anthropocene“

Hypotheses:
• Humankind has become
a “geological factor“
• Humans have a very
strong imprint on the
Earth System in the
Anthropocene
• The Anthropocene is
geologically preservable
• Culture and nature are
no longer antagonists
Geology of Mankind –
The Anthropocene
Paul Crutzen

Challenge 1. The extent of change
Reinhold Leinfelder, HdZ Berlin. Przemiany Festival, Kopernikus, Warszawa, 4. Sept..2015

only 23% of land surface pristine nature
only 11% photosynth. primary production in pristine nature

•  77% of (ice-free) land surface not pristine
any longer
•  >> 50% of freshwater used / managed by
humans
•  60-80% overfishing world wide (FAO),
•  100 -1000 x higher extinction rate of animals and
plants than natural
•  Biomass of humans and its domestic animals
amounts to 90% of biomass of all living mammals
•  Increase of energy consumption since 1900: > x 16
•  Highest atmospheric CO2 and CH4-concentrations
since >>800.000 years.
•  NOx und SO2-emissions now higher than natural sources
•  Mean erosion rate 10-30x higher than average of last 500 million years)
Changed
pristine

Syvitski & Kettner 2011

Sediments reaching the Mississippi River delta have declined significantly since 1700 due to dams and
levees.

(UNEP)

(image: Pravda)

Strongly increased local sea level rise
Syvitski & Kettner 2011

Bangkok
New
Orleans
Calcutta etc
Shanghai

Use of the Oceans
The Ocean as source and infrastructure
•  Food from the sea: fisheries and
aquaculture
•  Energy from the sea: from fossil to
renewable
•  Resources from the sea
•  Marine ecosystem services, e.g. genetic
resources
•  Traffic: Shipping and trade
from: Hamann et al 2014a
Based on WBGU 2013


Use of the Oceans
The Ocean as sinkhole
•  Food from the sea: fisheries and
aquaculture
•  Energy from the sea: from fossil to
renewable
•  Resources from the sea
•  Marine ecosystem services, e.g. genetic
resources
•  Traffic: Shipping and trade
•  Oceans as a dump and sink for waste
of all kind
Based on WBGU 2013

from: Hamann et al 2014a

Use of the Oceans
Threats to the Oceans
The ocean as „patient“
•  Warming
•  Sea-level rise
•  CO2-input and acidification
•  Dead zones
•  Pollution (nutrients, toxic substances, plastic),
oil spills
•  Overfishing
•  Ecosystem destruction,
loss of biodiversity (e.g. coral reefs)
•  Attention to interactions –
synergistic impacts
The oceans have arrived in the anthropocene…
Based on WBGU 2013


http://www.sueddeutsche.de/wissen/umweltschutz-als-kunst-ueberﬁschung-der-meere-1.1169440


No simple solutions possible. Aquaculture often increases fishing pressure
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/wissen/umweltschutz-als-kunst-ueberﬁschung-der-meere-1.1169440


http://visual.ly/most-dangerous-species-mediterranean

The Most Dangerous Species

in the Mediterranean

400 – 600 y

1000s y

30 y

300-500 y

25-30 y

4 weeks

200-500 y

30-60 y

10 y

450 y

300 y

100s y

toxic, variable

10 y

20-30 y

5 y

1000s y

25 y


Sketch R.Leinfelder

44% of all sea bird species

unintentionally swallow plastic

280 Mio t/year(2011),

incl. 75-80 Mio t/y packaging

Ca. 4,8-12,7 Mio t/y into seas

Ca. 4%

18% from ﬁsheries

80% of ocean litter is plastic

>1900 microﬁbres
per wash

virgin pellets

Microbeads from cosmetics

Tracking plastics

A Global Map of Human Impact on Marine Ecosystems

Benjamin S. Halpern et al. Science 319, 948 (2008); DOI: 10.1126/science.1149345

cumulative anthropogenic effects in the oceans

Challenge 2: Understanding Systemic Interactions and the One-System-Fact

Source: Rockström et al., Nature, 24. Sept. 2009
1. State of Planet
Chem.
Pollution, incl.
plastics,
not yet quantified
?
Change of land use
Phosphorus
cycle
Nitrogen cycle
Ocean acidification
Climate change
Biodiversity loss
Atmosph.
aerosoe
loadig
(not yet
quantified)
Stratospheric
ozone depletion
Global
freshwater use

Cosmic evolution
Biological evolution
Human evolution
Cultural time scale
Industrial time scale
Individual time scale
Challenge 3: Understanding Time-Related Problems

Steffen et al 2015

The Great
Acceleration;
since ca.1950

Atmospheric gases
Climate change effects
Ocean structure
Ecosystems and
biodiversity

Steffen et al 2015

The Great
Acceleration;
since ca.1950

Population and economy
Cities, Energy, Fertilizers
Land and water use
Infrastructures,
communication,
tourism

The Tipping Point Problem

New York 2012
anthropogenic
vs. natural??

Legitimization
Justice
„Life Style and Ethics
New solutions
From Hamann, Zea-
Schmidt, Leinfelder 2013
Challenge 4: Understanding societal problems


Excuse systems: a) Let‘s wait
„Let‘s
wait
for
be/er

technologies!“

„It‘s too late
anyhow!“

„Nature is stronger than
us and will ﬁx this!“



„others
will
beneﬁt
if
I‘d

do
something“

„I
am
just
one
out
of
7

billion
people,
won‘t
make

a
diﬀerence“

„I
would
do
something
but
can‘t

decide
what‘s
best“

Personal excuse systems:


Reinhold Leinfelder, HdZ Berlin. Przemiany Festival, Kopernikus, Warszawa, 4. Sept. 2015Reinhold Leinfelder, HdZ Berlin. Przemiany Festival, Kopernikus, Warszawa, 4. Sept..2015

Exhibition Welcome to the Anthropocene, Deutsches Museum, Munich

From left to right: Reinhold Leinfelder, Paul Crutzen, Christian Schwägerl

Different Aspects of the Anthropocene-Concept

Possible geological definitions
1800
1945/50
Late Pleistocene
Neolithic Revolution
1610
Aus Ruddiman et al. 2015, Science

Design Class University of Arts Berlin for Deutsches Museum
(A. Hamann/ R. Leinfelder / H. Trischler / H. Wagenbreth 2014 )

for internal use only

2014

AWG-majority presently for 1945/50-Boundary
36

2014 (online ﬁrst)

Zalasiewicz et al (2015) (Colonization paper), AR

All resources are produced by nature

From Hamann, Zea-
Schmidt, Leinfelder 2013
Living with Earth History
We use them like hunters and gatherers


From: The Atlas of Economic Complexity: Visualizing Global Economic Growth
Electronics
Machinery
Aircraft
Boilers
Ships
Metal Products
Constr.Mat.&Equipm.
Home&Office
Pulp&Paper
Chemicals&Health
Agrochemicals
Other Chemicals
Inorg.Salts&Acids
Petrochemicals
Leather
Milk&Cheese
Animal Fibres
Meat&Eggs
Fish&Seafood
Tropical Agricult.
Cereals&Vegs
Cotton/Rice/Soy/etc
Tobacco
Fruit
Misc.Agriculture
Not Classified
Textile&Fabrics
Garments
Food Processing
Beer/Spirits/Cigs
Precious Stones
Coal
Oil
Mining
We depend on biological and geological resources
produced during the History of the Earth

An Interdisciplinary Laboratory

Anthroposphere
atmosphere
hydrosphere
biosphere
pedosphere
lithosphere
Resources
industrial
energy
agro
building
chemical
metallic
mineral
animal
plant
Resource Consumption Areas
Food
mobility
cons.goods
buildings
infrastruct.
energy
production
processing
transport
marketing
cooking
eating
Human
supply type
diet type
household
global
local
fast
food
slow
food
all-season
seasonal
catering
self-
catering
omniv. red meat flexitarian
pescetar. poultry insects
veggie
ovo-lacto
pudding
veggie
vegan fruitarian
single flat-share family
Kitchen
static elements
mobile
tools
equipm.
furniture
food
cleaning
energy
draft J. Kirstein BWG, modified
System Earth
© Anthropocene-Kitchen Project @BWG. Humboldt-University Berlin

Homosapiensas
hunerandgatherer
www.lechrain-geschichte.de/VFG_Steinzeit-Alt.html
Cartoons from: Hamann et al., 2014.

Pleistocene

Holocene

ca 5-10 Million people worldwide?

Stone Age

Homosapiensas
hunerandgatherer
Neolithic
Revolution

agriculture, farming,
craftmanship,
cities, trade,
infrastructures. etc.
IPCC 4th AR 2007
Holocene

Homosapiensas
hunerandgatherer Holocene

Cartoons from: Hamann et al. 2014

Neolithicum

IPCC 4th AR 2007
Homosapiensas
hunerandgatherer
Holocene

Industrial
Revolution

Holocene

Anthropocene

Holocene

Neolithic
Revolution

Cartoons from: Hamann et al., 2014

IPCC 4th AR 2007
Neolithic
Revolution

Industrial
Revolution

Homosapiensas
hunerandgatherer
Holocene

Holocene

Anthropocene

Holocene

Anthropocenic
Revolution ??

Registered
damages
1980 today
?

46

Slide provided by Will Steffen

Slide provided by Will SteffenCartoon from: Hamann et al., 2014

Various Learning Types: Bolstering from History
Type „Vision“: better future, changing
values
Abolishion of Slavery, EU-Integration
Type „Crisis“: Experiences with hunger-
and developmental crises
Green Revolution,
Structural Adaptation Programs
Type „Knowledge“: Research results,
precaution principle
Protection of ozone layer
Type „Technology“: massive spread of
technical innovation
Steam engine, IT-revolution
Cartoons from: Hamann et
al.:, 2014

Sludgy fruits Anti-sludge gene Preservable fruits

So how to design the future?
„Even the future was better back then“
Karl Valentin

So how to design the future?
„Even the future was better back then“
Karl Valentin
not

Based on Leinfelder 2011, 2012

Necessity for Discourse and Participation

A new communication forum
The Haus der Zukunft (House of the Future), Berlin
Visualise to make future
options understandable,
imaginable, negotiable
„liquid“ exhibition
Let‘s make things
transparent, discuss,
criticise, debate,
deliver input, negotiate,
participate!
Event and conference venue
Try, experience, test,
play your part,
participate!
Special exhibitions and „reality lab“

• Is the future designable?
• How do science, industry and politics,
design the future?
• How can we design ourselves?
• How do we want to live?
1. Ask key questions
Futures

Probabilities

Possibilities

Desirabilities


health
2. Unravel connectedness in the Anthropocene
oceans
resources
biodiversity
climate change
mobility
robotics
land use
food
energy
labour
living
civilization
demographic
indigenous
knowledge
world views
values, norms
role of arts
communication
status of
science
(Neo-)Nature
Society &
Technology
Culture © R.Leinfelder, 2014

health
oceans
resources
biodiversity
climate change
mobility
robotics
land use
food
energy
labour
living
civilization
demographic
indigenous
knowledge
world views
values, norms
role of arts
communication
status of
science
(Neo-)Nature
Society &
Technology
Culture
2. Unravel connectedness in the Anthropocene
© R.Leinfelder, 2014

3. Develop and „negotiate“ visions

derzeit

Hightech:
Focus efficiency
collapse:
BAU
Reactive: ex-post
© Leinfelder, 2013; 2014

Bioadaptive:
ecological
Consistency
Nutrition


Hightech:
Collapse:
Reactive:

Consistency, bio-adaptive:
Energy for the
Future

CCS, Fracking?, Solar
Radiation Management??

Less heating,

bicycles,
woolen sweater,
insulation etc.

Solar, wind, Geothermy,
Biofuels?, BioCCS

Nuclear fusion,
CCU, smart grids,

Higher efﬁciencies
+ 4-6°


60

CCU: Carbon Capture and Usage: e.g. fertilisers, plastic, pharmaceutics, paint,
laquers, construction materials, industrial processes(e.g.. Power to Gas)

Hightech:
Collapse:
Reactive:

Bioadaptive:
Medicine for the
future

Antibiotics, pain killers,
Chemotherapy etc.

Nature medicine,

Relaxation, meditation
etc.

Sports, proactive medicine,

Self-tracking Apps

Evolutionary medicine

DNA-Tests

Electronic prosthetics

Supporting robotics

etc.

Dominance of
resistances


Living

• Perception of one’s own interaction with the Earth System
• Conscious consumption or non-consumption
• Self moderation to upper limits
• Rethinking priorities and status symbols
• Towards a new global ethos: The glocalised “World Society”?
Every human being determines fairness, justice and the characters of the
Globalization by one’s own actions
„1st. Order Wishes“

„2nd Order Wishes“

4) Trigger reflection

• Perception of one’s own interaction with the Earth System
• Conscious consumption or non-consumption
• Self moderation to upper limits
• Rethinking priorities and status symbols
• Towards a new global ethos: The glocalised “World Society”?
Every human being determines fairness, justice and the characters of the
Globalization by one’s own actions.
  Prioritize “2nd order wishes ” over “1st Order wishes”
4) Trigger reflection

•  Accept, that there is no way back to
the Holocene
•  Live and act as an integrative part of the
Earth System
•  Take on responsability for the future
•  Design today for the Future (and continuously readjust): knowledge
based
•  To do so learn from history (earth history, human history, cultural
history), the Present and the Future (Projections, Models, Scenarios)
(transdisciplinary, systemic approach)
•  Be creative, try out, think beyond limits (but check for externalities)
Conclusion: The Anthropocene Concept

 

Designing a functionable Anthropocene needs to
trigger interest for the future
create the wish to participate
in designing the future
emphasise and discuss the
role of science, technology, society
and esp. creativity for designing the future
 

re-think and start yourself!
Conclusion (2) The Anthropocene Concept
 



No need for fear!
There are options...

... like this!

Thank you!
Contact: director@hdz.berlin
www.reinhold-leinfelder.de
http://tinyurl.com/anthromilestones
www.die-grosse-transformation.de
www.hdz.berlin http://hausderzukunft.blogspot.de
MattiGalekMarcHennes

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