ARA Review by Erich55 of How to Control an Entire Planet

[Erich55]

[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, How to Control an Entire Planet.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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Abstract: There seem to be two sorts of debates about precursors and antecedents to the Anthro-
pocene. One concerns the question whether the concept of the Anthropocene was captured by earlier
terms, such as “noösphere” or “the Anthropozoic Era”. T

he other concerns whether the full-scale
transformation of Earth systems was already, at least partially, triggered sometime prior to the 19th
century Industrial Revolution. This paper takes a wider perspective, which may be seen as orthogonal
to these debates, by enquiring whether there are other biological agents in Earth history who may have
generated a new Epoch, and also by seeking to identify historical and prehistoric antecedents in
human–nature relations that may foreshadow the Anthropocene.

One conclusion is that humans are
certainly not the first biotic agents becoming drivers of planetary system changes. Another conclusion,
ironically, is that some cultural innovations that were adaptive under earlier conditions presently
have become collectively mal-adaptive and contributory to the hazards of our new Epoch. Finally, it
is suggested that while it may be unclear whether we can manage the socio-political challenges of
our times, our adaptive versatility in principle ought to suffice to successfully manage the climate
challenges of the Anthropocene.
Keywords: precursors; anticipations; Anthropocene; adaptation

1. Introduction
While discussions regarding precursors of the Anthropocene generally are focused
either, on the one hand, on previous conceptualizations of a novel, overarching human
influence on the planet, or, on the other, on the likely starting point of the new Epoch,
there are still other ways to think about Anthropocene precursors and antecedents. For
instance, we may consider whether the level of impact on functioning Earth systems
represented by the Anthropocene may have occurred in previous geological epochs, prior
to the existence of the human species. Furthermore, we may explore whether the type of
human environmental engagements generating this new Epoch has had forerunners in
earlier times of our sojourn on the planet.
I propose that geological history shows that there indeed have been several phases in
which biotic agents have significantly changed Earth system functioning (even if those bi-
otic agents were not endowed with the type of cognitive-behavioral capacities characteristic
of humans).

Moreover, I take up the suggestion, increasingly offered by anthropologists and
archaeologists, that our extraordinary capacity for adaptation to, and for transformation of,
environments evident in the Holocene probably is a heritage of our species’ multiple con-
frontations with the hardships experienced during repeated, profound, climatic changes in
the Pleistocene. This latter point will serve as the basis for an analysis of the contemporary
global exploitation overshoot by which we are generating the Anthropocene. It is sug-
gested in conclusion that, while it precisely is our special adaptive versatility which, finely
honed throughout the Pleistocene to address a great diversity of often rapidly changing
environments, has led us into our present troubles, this same adaptive capacity in turn may
also give us hope that we may be able to find ways to address the new challenges of our
present Epoch.
4.5/5

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