Monday, June 4, 2012

Incredible Animation: How Humans are Changing the Earth's Fate!





This video shows the impact humans are having on the Earth, and in many ways changing it. It is a 3-minute journey through the last 250 years of our history, from the start of the Industrial Revolution to the Rio+20 Summit. The film charts the growth of humanity into a global force on an equivalent scale to major geological processes.
 
It is unbelievable how we have spread ourselves out with endless roads and shipping lanes which basically cover the whole thing. In many other videos out there we see see composite pictures of the Earth at night, showing various light of cities, but never before have we seen anything like this. 

So what now?! Well, as the population continues to grow to nine-billion, we must think about how to find a safe operating space for humanity, for the sake of future generations -welcome to the Anthropocene.

This video was produced for the Planet Under Pressure Conference, and at the heart of it is a beautiful animation produced by Globaïa.

Learn more at: Anthropocene.info

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1 comment:

  1. Thanks, informative and pleasant. Familiar, but a good reminder. Even better, read '1493' by Charles Mann. Also, we're speeding up global evolution. Under normal circumstances, in 200 million years Pangaea will re-form, increasing the percentage of water on Earth's surface up to around 80%, from 71%. Temperature and humidity will increase. Water polo will be easier, but tennis a lot more difficult. The Rocky Mountains will be pushed up. As a Californian I'm thinking, hmmm ... more privacy, more nude beaches!!! Then 20,000 years ago every beach was a nude beach. Fruit will be a lot larger, but the fruit flies will be about the size of football, so you'll have to get past them to start munching. 200 million years ago the Antarctic was a tropical forest. Things change. I apologize about being jocular, I hope this gives you a laugh. According to biologists in about 7-8 million years, since we keep on killing off mammals at the top of their food chain, mammals are going to be extinct. I wonder who that includes, what Order are we a part of? Check out this video 'The Future is Wild'. I can't get enough of that stuff. Life itself is a mighty force in the universe. In ‘The 'World Without Us', Alan Weisman tells a story of the demilitarized zone in Cypress, where a town has lain untouched by humans for about 30 years. Little flowers pushed up through the concrete, breaking it. So, its time we made peace with our home planet. I wonder what's out there. Must be unimaginably diverse, way beyond our ability to comprehend. The night sky, the universe is our encyclopedia and we need to keep on reading it, forever delving. The more we read, the more we discover about what is, what was and ourselves. Josh S

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