A large group of geologists has decided not to give the “human age” a separate place in the Earth’s geological time scale, due to disagreements about exactly when our era may have begun. After a 15-year period of reflection, a team of scientists concluded that humanity has so fundamentally changed the natural world that a new phase in Earth’s existence – a new era – has already begun.

The rapid increase in greenhouse gases, the proliferation of microplastics, the extinction of other species, and the fallout from nuclear testing were presented as evidence that the world was entering the Anthropocene, or the human age, in the mid-20th century.

But the proposal was rejected in a controversial vote backed by the International Union of Geological Sciences, the industry’s governing body said in a statement published on its website on Thursday. The message said, “The decision to reject the proposal regarding the Anthropocene epoch as an official unit of the geological time scale has been approved.”

There is no possibility of objection, although some members of the voting committee have raised concerns about how the vote was conducted and the lack of due process. The union denied the allegations and described the outcome as a “resounding rejection of the Anthropocene proposal” by leading industry experts.

Four voted “in favour”, 12 – “against” – three – “abstained”.

Despite this, the Anthropocene will continue to be a widely used term: “It will continue to be an invaluable description of human impact on the Earth system,” Unity said.

“Opportunity missed”

In 2009, scientists began a study concluding that the Holocene epoch, which began with the end of the last ice age 11,700 years ago, gave rise to the Anthropocene around 1950.

They collected a wealth of evidence to prove this, including traces of radioactive material found in layered lake sediments, global upheavals in plants and animals, and ubiquitous “eternal chemicals.” But opponents argued that humanity had changed the planet long before the 1950s, pointing to decisive moments such as the emergence of agriculture and the industrial revolution.

Martin Head, part of the team behind the Anthropocene, said there were “lots of geological signals” and complained about the way the process was managed.

“I think it’s a missed opportunity to acknowledge and acknowledge the simple fact that our planet abandoned its natural functioning in the middle of the 20th century,” Head, an earth sciences professor at Brock University in Canada, told AFP. said.

Criticizing the Anthropocene era, environmental scientist Earle Ellis said that the “human age” has led to profound changes on the planet. But Ellis, a professor of geography and ecological systems at the University of Maryland, said scientists are unsure whether this impact is no less groundbreaking than the one that began just seventy years ago.

“The truth is there was never a need for hard borders. It just wasn’t critical,” he told AFP earlier this month after the proposal was first rejected.