Humans have been altering the earth’s ecosystems for thousands of years, but it is only in the last few generations that the impact has become so profound that some ask if we have ushered in a new geological era. The Anthropocene
(from anthropo-, meaning human, and -cene, meaning new) has become a popular term for a period defined by the human footprint on everything from land use to changes in the atmosphere.

To some, this development argues that the earth will be what we make of it. Can we manage the earth’s systems? Assist the interaction between man and nature? Or is it hubris to believe we can make the earth work for us?