From the noted environmental historian and philosopher Carolyn Merchant, this wide-ranging book focuses on the original concept of the Anthropocene (the Age of Humanity) first proposed in 2000 by Paul Crutzen and Eugene Stoermer. It undertakes a broad investigation into the ways in which science, technology, and the humanities can create a new and compelling awareness of human impacts on the environment.

Using history, art, literature, religion, philosophy, ethics, and justice as the focal points, Merchant traces key figures and developments in the humanities throughout the Anthropocene era and explores how these disciplines might influence sustainability in the next century. This book was written for anyone interested in the current state of the planet, its future, and what we can do to preserve life on earth.

PRAISE FOR THE BOOK:
“A remarkably clear and accessible study of multiple dimensions of the environmental crisis and their effects on the humanities.”—J.R. McNeill, coauthor of The Great Acceleration: An Environmental History of the Anthropocene since 1945

(Some illustrations in the print edition are not included in this eBook.)