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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Science
Damian Carrington Environment editor

Geologists reject declaration of Anthropocene epoch

Anthropocene Jan Zalasiewicz AWG
A sample from the Crawford sinkhole lake in Canada shows deposits some scientists argued should be the reference point for the start of the Anthropocene
A sample from the Crawford sinkhole lake in Canada shows deposits some scientists argued should be the reference point for the start of the Anthropocene. Photograph: Peter Power/AFP/Getty Images

The guardians of the world’s official geological timescale have firmly rejected a proposal to declare an Anthropocene epoch, after an epic academic row.

The proposal would have designated the period from 1952 as the Anthropocene to reflect the planet-changing impact of humanity. It would have ended the Holocene epoch, the 11,700 years of stable climate since the last ice age and during which human civilisation arose.

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