Hi! My name is Tina Zeng, and I am currently an eighth-grader at the Nueva School. I’ve always loved both writing and environmental protection, and I’ve combined these two favorites of mine into this article. Enjoy and let me know what you think!
Ever since March, I have been attending the monthly meetings of our Sierra Club chapter’s Environmental Stewardship Program. Since then, we have seen films, speeches, presentations, and more.
For the month of December, we watched the film “Anthropocene,” which compelled many of us to dive into the meaning of the word and ponder over what it signifies.
So what does Anthropocene mean?
According to the film, there have been thirty-three epochs so far, and scientists today are deciding whether or not to declare another—the Anthropocene. An epoch is defined by geological change, a shift in the Earth’s system. Anthropocene is the proposed new epoch, uniquely different from all other epochs—it’s caused by humans.
Are we still in the Holocene or have we moved into the Anthropocene? The film discusses the many reasons we have moved out of the Holocene and into a new epoch, an epoch that could indicate our impending doom—all presented with an amused grin on the various experts’ faces. The film is peppered with references to old commercials and movies, all historical clips used to illustrate the points made. For example, there was a scene with the Ozone Hairspray commercial, which elicited many chuckles from the audience; this visual potpourri definitely added a stimulating, dynamic element to the film.
After finishing the movie, we divided into groups depending on our hometowns and started conversations around the film. There were many points discussed, some of which stood out to me.
Someone mentioned that in school, we are always taught to think of humans as outside of nature—looking in to study nature rather than looking around at each other as important parts of Earth’s ecosystems. Now, in the Anthropocene, we have become the sun that Earth orbits around, the ones causing all the changes and altering all Earth’s systems. Provided homo sapiens survive this crisis, generations would be raised knowing that we as a race are responsible for the disastrous consequences of what comes next: we are not in the Holocene, but the Anthropocene—because of ourselves. In this story, humans are the center, the driver racing down a highway with no control of the wheel, but also the ones who started the car in the first place. Whose fault is it that we will likely end up crashing? Who other than us
Another person in our discussion group mentioned that while there was much conversation in the movie of tremendous challenges or obstacles, the film never mentioned any solutions or action items. Yes, the environment is under extreme stress and yes, the Earth’s systems have been altered drastically by humans, but what can we do to rectify that or at least to prevent further harm? Though the movie itself mentions no such solutions, I’m sure a little searching can reveal many avenues for beneficial environmental protection work, many of which are already known to most of us. So will you take action?
The Sierra Club itself has been leading the fight to combat climate change for years. Right now, our chapter’s Environmental Stewardship Program is championing divestment, which is, simply put, not investing in companies that sell fossil fuels. The movement is meant to pressure institutions such as cities or universities and force them to invest their funds elsewhere, such as in renewable energy companies.
The movie “Anthropocene” definitely raises questions worth considering, and I highly recommend checking it out and thinking for yourself how valuable the lessons of the film are. Regardless of whether or not you find the movie enjoyable, consider the impacts our behaviors have had on the environment (as I’m sure many of you have done already), and consider acting to save the remains of our home before the Anthropocene becomes another historical epoch studied by whoever populates Earth after us, if anyone.
