This is a presentation I gave to years 5 and 6 at Nakara Primary School. We had quite a discussion! The Anthropocene – we’re in it, like it or not. This is the period in which humans have so influenced geological processes at the Earth’s surface that evidence is now trapped within strata to make a physical reference point in time. (Although we’re still arguing over the exact date… but what’s a few decades in 4.5 billion years?) We have created what’s termed the Technosphere. Plants and animals constantly re-use nutrients and wastes but people aren’t very good at that. We recycle some materials but most of our junk just keeps piling up. Maybe in the order of 30 trillion tonnes of it! [1] So what might Future Earth be like? Some simple examples to consider are things like: Railway/road tunnels, underground mines and drill holes – at some time…
Future Earth – National Science Week 2017
