Around the turn of this century, earth scientists started to discuss the idea that humanity had pushed the world into a new geological era through the combined effects of climate change, pollution and diminishing biodiversity.
The concept of the Anthropocene — first suggested in 2000 — crystallised in 2023 when geologists selected a small lake in Canada to represent the start of the new epoch.
Deep and undisturbed sediments beneath the waters of Crawford Lake near Toronto show the build-up of compounds originating from fossil fuel burning and chemical production, radioactive isotopes from nuclear technology and biological materials from non-native species. In July, a working group of the International Union of Geological Sciences nominated the lake as an official Anthropocene monitoring site. This brought the term into wider public consciousness — and focused attention on the severity of human impact on our planet.