Welcome to the Anthropocene

...oh, it didn't ...

Oops; sorry about that, was seeing if something would paste and wasn't expecting it to work .

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/01/john-finnemore-sea-ott

I got quite excited about this article when it started. I have always been interested in geology and have had opportunities during my life to follow that interest. However the article soon drifted into the undergrowth of social theory and the geology, apart from a passing reference to global warming, was soon pushed to the edge of the plate, if I may mix my metaphors.

Man has had an immense effect on geology and the shape of landscapes. Mineral extraction in particular has reshaped huge areas of land affecting water catchments, changing erosion patterns and putting in place a new landscape of mineral waste heaps. The vast conurbations of many Asian and South American countries have had a major effect on the land they occupy and the land they are surrounded by, this subject offers so much and this article doesn't do it justice.

The problem with too many academic disciplines is that its practitioners enjoy arguing about how many angels dance on the top of their disciplinary pin so much that actually looking at the materials of their discipline seems rather boring.

I've often thought that it was a bit sad that giant amphibians weren't wandering round thinking "Hmm the Carboniferous must be nearly over" and Tyrannosaurous didn't rush around saying "Come on chaps, it's the Cretaceous". But here we are able to talk about the era we live in and what it all means. Of course whatever comes after us will probably have quite different ideas - unless it does turn out to be the survive everything cockroaches, who will not be thinking much at all