The denotative meaning behind “anthropocene” is literally the era of humankind. More specifically it is referring to the time period from the Industrial Revolution to the present day where humans have “dominated” the ecosystem: both land and ocean. With the growing population worldwide, humans have expanded into lands and ecosystems previously untouched. However, in recent years various intellectuals and scientists have pushed for “conservation” in an effort to increase biodiversity. Moreover given the growing population it is also important to use land for the best interest of the people. With this being said, “urban ecology” refers to the balance between preserving biodiversity but also keeping the best interests of people in terms of the usage of the land. Urban ecology is the interaction between humans and the ecosystem in an urban area, where there is a higher population of people than living organisms. Both Kareiva and Vitousek agree that the human dominance over the land and ocean is largely a negative one and needs to be addressed and fixed immediately.
According to Kareiva, nature is not as fragile and delicate as scientists supposed it was in the 70’s and 80’s. Rather, nature has shown to be resilient to human influence. For example, the American chestnut was overtaken by a foreign disease but according to the author, “the ecosystem (was) surprisingly unaffected.” Kareiva continued to explain that while humans would like to conserve land and build parks to “preserve” the ecosystem, they are still transforming it. For example, when a park is built, humans decide what species should thrive in the area, build wells for drinking water etc. By wanting to preserve the land, humans end up changing it.
Furthermore, Vitousek also describes the extent to which humans have transformed the land in a more scientific sense. The rise of population has increased the need for resources to satisfy the wants and needs of influx of people. Humans have transformed the land for various purposes including: farming, industry and fishing. According to Vitousek, human land use accounts for the most “substantial human alteration of the Earth system.” Furthermore, humans have also affected the oceans through over fishing as well as the sprout of algal blooms in coastal areas, which indirectly produce harmful chemicals. Lastly, human alteration of resources has also led to the extinction of “one-quarter of the Earth’s bird species.”
While both authors state the negative affects of anthropocene, they do however, express optimism and offer feasible solutions to address the issue. For Kareiva, a better means of achieving conservation would be to understand the needs of the indigenous people as well as biodiversity. Moreover, for Vitousek, he stresses educating people about the ecosystem and having them understand the need to take responsibility for “managing the planet.” Both solutions are feasible, but the most effective way to make change is for people as a whole to be conscious of their affect on the environment and find the balance between preserving biodiversity and land use.
