Op-Ed: The Anthropocene, extinction, and how irritating humans really are

Paul Wallis
January 1, 2023

The Earth's mass can now be expressed as six ronnagrams after scientists voted to add new metric prefixes - Copyright PIB/AFP -

The Anthropocene is the geological age in which human activity dominates life on Earth. The current issue with the Anthropocene is deciding exactly when this global idiocy started in its current form.

My guess would be it’s at the start of large-scale mass production. It’s the first recorded case of the conscious behavior of any species dedicated to making its own habitat uninhabitable. This behavior was carried out against much better judgment and in the face of overwhelming knowledge of the damage being done. It was called “progress”.

The Industrial Revolution and its descendants created the current Global Sewer. It also created the scatterbrained mindsets which have dominated the Anthropocene. Actions without regard for consequences are the norm. This is roughly the equivalent of finding a cliff, jumping off it, and making decisions only after you hit the ground.

In the last 100 years, this decision-making process has made a mockery of even the idea of human intelligence. You couldn’t wish for a more anti-survival series of mistakes. These are the encyclopedia of bad calls which have made human health almost impossible, and endangered human survival in every way possible.

Pollution alone is poisoning the world. Basic thermodynamics, grade school level, is incomprehensible to supposedly educated people. The difference between toxic waste and food is now largely academic. Water may or may not be drinkable. There are no long-term goals of any kind. Most goals are now about fixing the many messes, not moving forward to something better.

All of this brilliance is strained through the dubious intellects and values of the political system. The political system, in turn, automatically divides viewpoints, usually to extremes these days. Politics does so to the point that it’s hard to believe people are even talking about the same things on any subject.

Then there’s “business” – The obsessive mindset that it’s much more important to make a few bucks now than for anyone or anything to survive another couple of seconds. That’s been a big help in crashing humanity and the entire planet.

The net result is a purely nominal society led by a hierarchy of morons. The stupidest lead this parade of fools over as many cliffs as possible. The main function of this hierarchy is wasting time on everything but important issues. Whatever decisions are made will be the wrong ones or at the very least the most counterproductive.

Backlit against the blinding glare of stupidity and ignorance, the future of humanity now is, to put it mildly, speculative. The dystopian futures of fiction are now monotonous daily realities. Dysfunctional societies are festering worldwide. Mad Max could be (and might as well be) about grocery expeditions or a day in an American high school.

One thing for sure about the Anthropocene – It definitely won’t be a long geological period. Other geological eras persisted for millions of years. This one may not make 100 years from now.

Average life expectancy is going down in some places. Countries like the US and UK have lost their higher rankings. Human fertility, particularly male fertility, is tanking badly and the climate isn’t helping. If good old Homo Sap wants a geological era, they better be quick.

Another thing – Other geological eras were interesting. The Anthropocene will be by comparison a few seconds of pretty bad slapstick comedy. “The hilarious misadventures of half-witted apes” about covers it.

The Anthropocene extinction will be followed by something far more interesting. As though there’s a choice.