Lecture 2 in our Odyssey through climate change studies.

1. 2. The Anthropocene
UNT Phil 4250
Climate Change
Adam Briggle
adam.briggle@unt.edu

2. Outline
1. Where are we in space and time?
2. The Anthropocene
3. The Great Acceleration
4. Some criticisms of the Anthropocene
5. The big question: green growth or degrowth?

3. 1. Where are we in space and time?
What is our way of being in the world?

4. The Pale Blue Dot
Voyager 1 – 1990
Carl Sagan:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgQ1P
tkZvGU

6. 2. The Anthropocene

7. Source: https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2016/10/01/495437158/climate-change-and-the-astrobiology-of-the-anthropocene

8. Source: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/21/human-race-just-001-of-all-life-but-has-destroyed-over-80-of-wild-mammals-study

9. Source: https://biomimicry.net/earths-calendar-year/

10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yBzxC9eoog

12. 3. The Great Acceleration

13. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jx85qK1ztAc

14. 1.2 Billion
people
328 Million
people

15. https://www.amnh.org/explore/videos/humans/human-population-through-time

17. In other words
• It took 190,000 years for our population
to reach 200 million.
• It took 10,000 more years for our
population to reach 1 billion.
• It took just 200 more years for our
population to reach 7 billion.

21. 4. Some Criticisms of the Anthropocene

22. 1. Hubris
Consider Fermi’s Paradox

23. 2. Inequality

24. Africa 2019 = 1.2 billion
Africa 2100 = 4 billion

25. 5. The Big Question:
Green Growth or Degrowth?

26. Talk about degrowth…

28. The Good
Anthropocene

29. The Bad
Anthropocene

30. Remember kids,
Admiral Ackbar says:
“Critical thinking is
just as cool as light
sabers.”