David Grinspoon Quote

Two stratigraphers asked, Is the Anthropocene an Issue of Stratigraphy or Pop Culture? In part, they argued that our presence is as yet too brief a perturbation to merit a named place in the stratigraphic column. The amount of ocean sediments laid down since World War II is less than a millimeter. And, of course, nobody knows how long the Anthropocene will last. That depends crucially on how we, collectively, respond to the novel realization that we’re now in such a time. Our presence, however, is already indelibly inscribed in Earth’s stratigraphic history, and as long as (or whenever) there are geologists, it will be identifiable. Whether or not it becomes official,

David Grinspoon

Two stratigraphers asked, Is the Anthropocene an Issue of Stratigraphy or Pop Culture? In part, they argued that our presence is as yet too brief a perturbation to merit a named place in the stratigraphic column. The amount of ocean sediments laid down since World War II is less than a millimeter. And, of course, nobody knows how long the Anthropocene will last. That depends crucially on how we, collectively, respond to the novel realization that we’re now in such a time. Our presence, however, is already indelibly inscribed in Earth’s stratigraphic history, and as long as (or whenever) there are geologists, it will be identifiable. Whether or not it becomes official,

Related Quotes

About David Grinspoon

David H. Grinspoon (born 1959) is an American astrobiologist. He is the Senior Scientist for Astrobiology Strategy at NASA and was the former inaugural Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology for 2012–2013.
His research focuses on comparative planetology, with a focus on climate evolution on Earth-like planets and implications for habitability. He has also studied, written and lectured on the human influence on Earth, as seen in cosmic perspective.
He has published four books, Venus Revealed, which was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times book prize, Lonely Planets: The Natural Philosophy of Alien Life, which won the 2004 PEN literary award for nonfiction, Earth in Human Hands, which was named one of NPR's Science Friday "Best Science Books of 2016" and Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto, co-authored with Alan Stern. He is adjunct professor of Astrophysical and Planetary Science at the University of Colorado, a former Fellow of the Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Engagement at Dartmouth College and a former Distinguished Visiting Scholar in the College of the Environment at Wesleyan University.