Despite my initial inhibitions, I have finally joined the blogging world (enter applause here). Since this is my first post, I am going to explain the focus of my blog and why I believe it warrants such discussion. As my title, 'Is the grass greener on the other side?' suggests, I will be investigating debates surrounding the Anthropocene and its effect on global biodiversity. Are we entering a 6th mass extinction or is there still hope for the species that roam our planet? Roberts (2013) discusses how the Anthropocene has brought an age of 'ecological transformations' and my blog will explore the impacts of these 'transformations' for global biodiversity. My reasoning for choosing this focus, is probably due to my slight obsession with ecology (I love plants, what can I say).
So what is the Anthropocene I hear you say? A simple definition can be found in the Oxford English Dictionary:
'relating to or denoting the current geological age, viewed as the period during which human activity has been been the dominant influence on climate and the environment'.
As is suggested, the Anthropocene is unlike any geological period before. The dangerous levels of industrialisation, land use change, ocean acidification, freshwater eutrophication, carbon dioxide and methane emissions are what distinguish this 'Age of the Humans'. Humanity has taken on the role of God and is now pushing the Earth over planetary boundaries. The exact time when the Anthropocene emerged still remains a highly contentious debate. For a VERY basic explanation of the Anthropocene and its implications, feel free to watch the following short video.
Over the course of my blog I aim to cover a wide range of topics including (but not limiting myself to) invasive species, ecosystem resilience, migration of species with climate change, ocean acidification, freshwater eutrophication and the 6th mass extinction. Rather than having a strict agenda, I want my blog to be an engagement with current literary debates and allow my opinions freedom to develop over the next 3 months.
I hope you enjoy following the battle between biodiversity and the Anthropocene. What will come out on top? Will the grass for biodiversity be greener on the other side?
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