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News Articles: Anthropocene

In Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta, oil bunkering — the practice of siphoning oil from pipelines — has transformed parts of the once-thriving delta ecosystem into an ecological dead zone, according to the U.N. Environment Programme.

Mercy me: Photos show what humans have done to the planet in the Anthropocene age

Anthropocene refers to the age of humans — the things we've done to Earth. Geologists just rejected a proposal to declare an official "Anthropocene epoch." But everyone agrees: Damage has been done.

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By:
  • Jonathan Lambert and
  • Rebecca Ellis
Trees surround Crawford Lake in Milton, Ontario., on Monday, July 10, 2023. A team of scientists is recommending the start of a new geological epoch defined by how humans have impacted the Earth should be marked at the pristine Crawford Lake outside Toronto in Canada.

Scientists say new epoch marked by human impact — the Anthropocene — began in 1950s

The Anthropocene Working Group is proposing a small but deep lake outside of Toronto, Canada — Crawford Lake — to place a historic marker.

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By:
  • The Associated Press
A portion of Australia's Great Barrier Reef photographed from the International Space Station. The Flinders Reef area of the Great Barrier Reef is one of 11 sites around the world where scientists are looking for decisive geological evidence of a new epoch called the anthropocene.

Drawing A Line In The Mud: Scientists Debate When 'Age Of Humans' Began

Scientists on five continents are hunting for geological evidence to pinpoint exactly when humans became a major force shaping life on Earth. But settling on the date could unleash a larger debate.

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By:
  • Rebecca Hersher