James
Lovelock's* choice of 1712 (Newcomen Atmospheric Engine) as the start
of the Anthropocene epoch is based on the fact that it was the first
artificial system capable of focusing applied energy at a rate greater
than the Solar constant, ~1.35 kW/m^2. To his thinking, this was the
threshold wherein technology transcended the energetics of the natural
world, and there was and is no going back.
*Gaia, (1979); A Rough Ride to the Future (2014).---------------------------------------
Update: a friend suggests we start the calendar over. If so, this year is the year 303 (A.E., for Anthopocene Epoch). Traditionally geological epochs are not precise to the calendar year, but that is one of the things that makes this new one different.
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