Before participating in this class, I had no idea what the word Anthropocene meant. I had heard of global warming, but was ignorant of the size and seriousness of the issue at hand. I was exposed to a reality that was shocking at best and disturbing at worst. Through the digestion of information learned in class, I began to question the role of humans in the Anthropocene. I concluded that nature is not something to be merely consumed. Nature should be viewed as of equal value to civilization, and the relationship between the two should be symbiotic. This, obviously, has not been the case for quite some time. If human race is serious about limiting global warming, they need to consider their relationship with nature.

Some may consider the state of our planet a “Good Anthropocene,” a viewpoint I find quite absurd. Humans should not take delight in their power to change our planetary environment, nor should they assume that we can survive a warming world through innovation. To be successful in the Anthropocene, action needs to be taken to slow the emission of carbon dioxide; we cannot afford to be in the back seat any longer. My viewpoint is similar to the stance taken in Active Hope, as I believe we must actively work to bring about the change we would like to see.

The complex politics of the Anthropocene have challenged me to think in much more of a global perspective. As mentioned in a previous blog post, most of my thoughts about global warming were centered around the United States. I used to point my finger at China, thinking they were the world’s only culprit of climate change. Honestly, I did not stop to consider the fact the United States was part of the reason China was polluting so heavily, or that the United States maybe wasn’t as green as I thought it was. Instead of viewing the world as a group of many interconnected systems as I do now, I tended to view the world from the United States outward. Thinking systematically is my biggest takeaway from this course; what ever industry I go into, I can apply systematic thinking to better understand complex problems.

Photo Credit

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