THE ANTHROPOCENE

There is a growing scientific consensus that we are entering a new geologic epoch shaped by human beings. Dubbed the "Anthropocene," scientists are still debating how long ago it started or if it is only now unfolding. Most people are aware that humanity’s influence on our planet’s natural resources continues to cause irreversible damage. On this episode of Locus Focus we talk with Christian Schwägerl, an environmental journalist in Berlin and author of The Anthropocene: The Human Era and How It Shapes Our Planet. We discuss the awesome responsibility we have as the shapers of the earth's future to create solutions to our current ecological crises that balance ecological sustainability, economic prosperity, political justice and cultural vibrancy.

Christian Schwägerl has written for national media in his home country of Germany since 1988, covering politics, science, the economy and cultural affairs. Schwägerl has helped initiate two major cultural endeavors around the Anthropocene in Germany: The Anthropocene Project  2013/14, at the federally funded House of World Cultures in Berlin, and a special exhibition at the German Technology Museum in Munich. He is the author of three books in German, the most recent being The Analog Revolution: When Technology Becomes Alive and Nature Fuses with the Internet.