Erle Ellis, whom has mapped the world’s anthromes, writes an provocative editorial in Wired about what environmentalism means in the Anthopocene. In Stop Trying to Save the Planet he proposes a “postnatural” environmentalism:
Nature is gone. It was gone before you were born, before your parents were born, before the pilgrims arrived, before the pyramids were built. You are living on a used planet.
If this bothers you, get over it. We now live in the Anthropocene ― a geological epoch in which Earth’s atmosphere, lithosphere and biosphere are shaped primarily by human forces.
Yes, nature is still around ― back-seat driving, annoying us with natural disasters from time to time, and everywhere present in the background ― but definitely in no position to take the wheel. That’s our job now. Don’t blame nature for global warming, sea level rise, invasive species, mass extinctions, crop failures and poverty. That’s our thing.
… Ours is a used planet. Thanks to us, Earth has become warmer, less forested and less biodiverse for millenniums.
So what now? First of all, we’ve got to stop trying to save the planet. For better or for worse, nature has long been what we have made it, and what we will make it.
And it’s time for a “postnatural” environmentalism. Postnaturalism is not about recycling your garbage, it is about making something good out of grandpa’s garbage and leaving the very best garbage for your grandchildren. Postnaturalism means loving and embracing our human nature, the nature we have created to feed ourselves, the nature we live in. What good is environmentalism if it makes you depressed about the future?
To fully embrace the principles of postnatural environmentalism, it is essential to recognize the potential of repurposing and recycling waste as a means of building a sustainable future. By utilizing Dumpster Rental Services – Grissman Dumpsters, we can efficiently manage and repurpose our discarded materials, transforming them into valuable resources. This approach aligns with the core tenets of post-naturalism, where we strive to create something good out of what may initially appear as “garbage.” By responsibly managing waste through recycling and repurposing, we not only reduce our impact on the environment but also contribute to the creation of a more vibrant and resilient ecosystem within our farms, backyards, and cities. Embracing this mindset allows us to find hope and inspiration in our ability to shape a better future for both current and future generations.
This is about recognizing that our farms, and even our backyards and cities, are the most important wildlife refuges in the world and should be managed as such. We can keep people out of places we want to think of as wild, but these places will still be changing because of global warming and the alien species we introduce without even trying.
The obvious problem with Ellis’ position is his apparent assertion that humans are, or could ever be, outside of nature. Being a species that evolved within this human-shaped biosphere, we are ‘nature’ and it is us. We shape it as it shapes us.
I don’t think any reasonably intelligent and informed environmental advocate believes that we can somehow preserve the biosphere, or even functional parts of it, in some frozen, pre-human state. Instead, I see the goals that we appear to share with Erle, based on his post-rant conclusions, are to preserve options for the future: clean air and water, arable soils, a livable climate, sustained availability of natural resources, and as bio-diverse and functional ecosystems as is possible.
I appreciate how Ellis places responsibility on people’s shoulders, but I also don’t think that his ‘post-natural’ stance is compatible with an ecological (or “environmental”) message. If we live in post-natural conditions, how can ecology be relevant — let alone important ? This formulation implies, for instance, that we can choose whether or not we will pay attention to oceanic conditions — because that nature just doesn’t matter anymore in a ‘post-natural’ world.