4 thoughts on “June 4 When Are We?”

  1. Deborah Amponsah

    One idea that stayed with me is the question of who is actually responsible for the environmental changes we see today. The term “Anthropocene” suggests that humanity as a whole has become a force capable of changing the planet. At first, I thought this idea made sense because humans have clearly altered landscapes through mining, industrial farming, urban development, and the use of fossil fuels. However, after reading the assigned texts, I started to wonder whether the term is too broad.
    What stood out to me most was the argument that environmental destruction is not caused equally by all people. When we say that “humans” are responsible, it can hide the fact that certain industries, corporations, governments, and economic systems have had a much larger impact on the environment than ordinary individuals. For example, many of the artworks and examples discussed in the readings connect environmental damage to extraction, colonialism, and corporate interests. These examples suggest that climate change is not simply the result of human existence, but of specific choices and systems that have shaped the modern world.
    This made me think differently about environmental responsibility. If everyone is considered equally responsible, then it becomes harder to identify who has the power to make meaningful changes. A person who recycles at home does not have the same environmental impact as a major oil company or a large industrial operation. The idea of the Anthropocene can therefore be useful because it reminds us that humans affect the planet, but it can also be misleading if it ignores differences in power and responsibility.
    I was also interested in how art helps reveal these hidden connections. Scientific data can show that environmental problems exist, but art often helps us understand the social and political stories behind them. Some of the artworks discussed in the readings make visible the links between environmental damage, economic systems, and historical events. In this way, art encourages viewers to ask deeper questions about why environmental crises happen rather than simply accepting them as inevitable.
    For me, the most important takeaway from this week’s materials is that environmental issues are not only scientific problems. They are also questions about history, politics, economics, and justice. Thinking about the Anthropocene in this way opens up a more complicated but also more honest discussion about our relationship with the planet and our responsibility for its future.

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  2. Gina Pinguil (She/her)

    This week’s lecture was eye opening and helped get the gears moving about how humans affect the environment. The part of the lecture that caught my attention immediately was how there is no separation between humans and animals. I have always believed that there is an intertwining between humans and animals because of how much human activity can affect animals’ lives, from their environment to their population count. Even the usage of terms ‘non-humans’ feels refreshing to hear as it always seems like humans categorize themselves above animals due to this idea of superiority and advancement. I think that we naturally require the same survival necessities such as food, water, sleep, etc. I understand that on some level we have advanced in ways animals haven’t but they also hold unique abilities that are unachievable to us. There is simply no way to deny an animal’s intelligence and capabilities of advancing when dogs and gorillas can learn and understand the complex language of humans (even sign language) and we cannot communicate to them in their language. We are constantly interacting with nature and alternating it to the point it has unnatural changes. I believe this way of thinking that we are constantly intertwining with animals will refrain us from thinking we do not affect them and we barely interact.
    Moving forward, the term anthropocene and reading about it does open my mind up to keep my mind open to how not just animals are affected by human activity. I think a lot of media I have consumed that discusses environmental issues pulls in the audience using animals and their suffrage to spread awareness. Visually it can be easier to gain attention on yet it might just drive focus mainly on that. Which for me personally, narrows my view and acknowledges animals more than anything. Yet while reading the readings, I was reminded about greenhouse gases, pollution, global warming, GMO’s, deforestation, extinction, etc. Even the issues invisible to us have to be acknowledged such as carbon dioxide being the reason the planet is warming. I wondered for a bit how visuals can be created to draw attention to these issues that just weren’t charts and data. The visuals are shown in one of the readings of “visualizations of the globe, showing schematic networks of light trajectories that reference and measure energy, transportation, and communication systems”.
    One part of the reading that stuck with me was how human activity moves sediment and rock more than the natural process such as erosion. It made me question how much responsibility each one of us has to the changing environment. The average person can not possibly cause so much change to the environment unless given the power to do so. Large corporations can affect the environment at a larger scale unlike someone who does not have the ability to make large changes in the environment.

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  3. Sebastian D'Agosta (He/Him)

    After this lecture and the readings, a few new thoughts have come to mind. There were some really shocking statistics, like how humanity has transformed about 38% of the land that isn’t covered in ice into farmland. This is astounding as both a feat of human ingenuity and evidence of our immense greed. We produce so much food waste, have too much farmland, yet much of the earth lives in hunger. Many of the things I read today highlight how humanity basks in our excess. From Dubai to Vegas, we have created a system of existence so grand that it should not exist. It is incredible to live in an age where the average person, especially in Europe and the U.S, lives far better than anyone in their bloodline before them. Our ancestors could only dream of some of the innovations that have resulted from industrialization, and they could not fathom the horrors either. The readings demonstrate how the state, corporations, and military work in tandem to create an apparatus that distracts us from the horrors of the Anthropocene, instead focusing on the “great” inventions of Capitalism and companies that make our lives “better.” In art and media, it is especially important to be outwardly critical of the apparatus, lest images and art be used against us. The Anthropocene and its art have become less about humanity and more about corporations, largely due to the fact that they control the narrative. We must use our art to portray the corporations as guilty, responsible, and accountable for the destruction of our planet during this so-called Anthropocene.

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  4. Stephanie Taveras

    One thing that stood out to me from this week’s lecture and readings was the idea that humans have changed the planet so much that scientists are considering an entirely new geological age. That honestly made me stop and think because we usually think of environmental changes happening naturally over thousands of years, not because of human actions. I also found it interesting that the readings questioned who is actually responsible for these changes. The term Anthropocene makes it sound like all humans are equally responsible, but I agree with the idea that large industries and corporations have a much bigger impact than the average person. While we all contribute in some way, not everyone has the same level of influence on the environment. The images and examples in the readings made the topic feel more real to me. Seeing landscapes changed by oil extraction, pollution, and development showed how much humans have reshaped the planet. Overall, this week’s material made me think more about how our actions leave lasting effects on the environment and how important it is to look at who is creating the biggest impacts.

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