Original Minds Circle

Wednesday 10th April

9:45 – 12:30

Professor Andy Cundy asks: What is the current impact of humanity on our planet, and has this shifted the Earth to a new planetary state (the “Anthropocene”)?

 Big Questions

• What is the historical, current and possible future impact of humans on our land, air, seas, and ecosystems?
• Has this impact been sufficient to mean that we’re now the dominant force on an “Anthropocene” planet?
• How long will our impacts last, and what can we do about it?

 In this session

• You will think about how the Earth system works, and how we can monitor and understand it.
• You will examine how we can use environmental and geological evidence to see change in the Earth System, and see the global impact and “fingerprint” of human society.
• You will discuss ways in which we can manage our impact to live more sustainably on the Earth.

Professor Andy Cundy 

• Research Director, GAU-Radioanalytical
• Director of Internationalisation
• School of Ocean and Earth Science
• National Oceanography Centre (Southampton)
• University of Southampton

Andy is a Professor of Environmental Radiochemistry in the School of Ocean and Earth Science at the University of Southampton, and has spent most of his career looking at the impacts of humans on the environment, including the chemical and biological impacts of our industrial and other activities, and ways in which we can better manage these impacts. He is also a member of the Anthropocene Working Group, an international group of researchers examining whether the Earth has entered a new state in which humans have become the dominant planetary force – the “Anthropocene”.

COMING SOON