Life in the Anthropocene
Erle Ellis' latest book explains the science behind the Anthropocene and the many proposals about when to mark its beginning: the nuclear tests of the 1950s? The beginnings of agriculture? The origins of humans as a species? Erle Ellis considers the many ways that the Anthropocene’s “evolving paradigm” is reshaping the sciences, stimulating the humanities, and foregrounding the politics of life on a planet transformed by humans. The Anthropocene remains a work in progress. Is this the story of an unprecedented planetary disaster? Or of newfound wisdom and redemption? Ellis offers an insightful discussion of our role in shaping the planet, and how this will influence our future on many fronts.
Presented in partnership with the Wisconsin Science Festival.
Erle Ellis
Erle Ellis is Professor of Geography and Environmental Systems at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) where he directs the Laboratory for Anthropogenic Landscape Ecology. His research investigates the ecology of human landscapes at local to global scales towards informing sustainable stewardship of the biosphere in the Anthropocene. Recent work examines long-term global changes in human ecology (anthromes; anthroecology), global synthesis of local knowledge (GLOBE) and 3D landscape mapping (Ecosynth). He teaches environmental science and landscape ecology at UMBC, has taught ecology at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, and is the author of Anthropocene: A Very Short Introduction.