Handbook of Critical Environmental Politics

Abstract

IN ENGLISH: This chapter deals with the concept of Anthropocene, a techno-scientific label proposed by specialists in earth system sciences, as a technical name for a geological epoch marked by a significant impact of purposeful human activity on Earth’s geology and ecosystems. In environmental politics it is also a conceptual framework within which to observe the constraints and potentials of contemporary natures and societies through the interrelationship between ecology and justice. The simplistic reading of the Anthropocene is one in which humanity’s propensity for broadly understood development (as an instrument of emancipation), resulted in a systemic destabilizing of non-human nature. This, in turn, is now undercutting the attainments of that development and threatening to bring down the whole process. Yet with a multitude of subsistence, control, learning, conflict, contraction and expansion activities taking place in the everyday interactions between over 7 billion humans themselves (with varying consequences for the biosphere: human and non- human life) a new way of presenting some of that interaction is needed in order to fight to extinguish the destructive and unjust interactions while amplifying those that are regenerative and emancipative. The hegemonic conception of development is unable to articulate a globally just and sustainable universal format of these interactions, differentiating between the political and economic obstinacy to deviate from a destructive path and the existing instances of climate-restorative livelihoods. ---------------IN CROATIAN: Ovo poglavlje bavi se konceptom antropocena, tehno-znanstvenom oznakom koju su predložili stručnjaci za znanosti o sustavima Zemlje, kao tehnički naziv za geološku epohu obilježenu značajnim utjecajem ljudske aktivnosti na Zemljinu geologiju i ekosustave. U politici okoliša to je također konceptualni okvir unutar kojeg se promatraju ograničenja i potencijali suvremenih priroda i društava kroz međuodnos između ekologije i pravde. Pojednostavljeno čitanje antropocena je ono u kojem je sklonost čovječanstva široko shvaćenom razvoju (kao instrumentu emancipacije) rezultirala sustavnom destabilizacijom neljudske prirode. Ono, zauzvrat, sada potkopava postignuća tog razvoja i prijeti da sruši cijeli proces. Ipak, s mnoštvom aktivnosti opstanka, kontrole, učenja, sukoba, skupljanja i širenja koje se odvijaju u svakodnevnim interakcijama između više od 7 milijardi ljudi (s različitim posljedicama za biosferu: ljudski i neljudski život) potreban nam je nov način predstavljanja te interakcije kako bi se borili za gašenje destruktivnih i nepravednih interakcija te pojačali one koje su regenerativne i emancipativne. Hegemonijska koncepcija razvoja nije u stanju artikulirati globalno pravedan i održiv univerzalni format ovih interakcija, jer ne radi razliku između političke i ekonomske tvrdoglavosti da se skrene s destruktivnog puta i postojećih primjera života koji obnavljaju klimu.

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