The Anthropocene Disruption

by Robert William Sandford

An important and timely book that addresses the new reality of the Anthropocene and what we should be doing about it. In what is now being heralded as the Second Copernican Revolution, Earth scientists have discovered that our self-regulating planetary life support system is a single, dynamic integrated system, and not a collection of ecosystems as we once thought. The view that the planet needs to be understood as a unified, complex, evolving system that is more than the sum of its parts has led in turn to three linked breakthroughs in Earth system the first is the concept of the Anthropocene, which suggests we have entered a new geological epoch defined by human influence on Earth system function; the second is the concept of The Great Acceleration, the extraordinary increase in human impacts on Earth system function since the end of the Second World War; and finally the concept of Planetary Boundaries, limits within which we need to stay if we are to create a safe and viable planet for humanity to survive. This latest RMB Manifesto addresses some of the most challenging questions of our time as humanity continues to march past the dawn of a new, human-influenced epoch.

168 pages, Hardcover

Published October 1, 2019

About the author

Bob Sandford is the author or editor of over 35 books on the history and heritage of the Canadian West. He began his work with UN-linked initiatives as chair of the United Nations International Year of Mountains in 2002. He also chaired the United Nations International Year of Fresh Water and Wonder of Water Initiative in Canada in 2003–04. These celebrations focused on the growing importance of water to ecological and cultural heritage in Canada.

Reviews

[Rob Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book needs to come with a Jumanji-style agreement: You're free to read it, but if you start, you must finish it right to the end. Trying to exit half way would be like exiting a speeding train while it crosses a very high bridge. I admit I put it down a few times leading up to the midway point, not wanting to face the brutal honesty the book succinctly lays out, but little glimpses of humour kept me going. Around page 70 Sandford begins a savage dismantling of the status quo that starts to build the reader back up; a takedown of denying or doing anything else other than sufficient action and considering our efforts a success. He is literally speaking to you, to me - tweeting about it, putting solar on your roof, and signing a few petitions while pretending it'll all be ok is bullshit (he's more articulate, and accepts that they're necessary but not sufficient) and does not move us forward with the urgency needed to make the best of the situation. It's time to start repairing our systems, letting go of the false idols we claim to value more than our existence, and do better. It's time. I really appreciated his passion and wit in tackling a tough topic and encourage you to partake. But don't put it down.

[fren · Rating 3 out of 5]

The tone of the book is definitively of the time, and it was only 2019...