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29 Sokolov V.E., Rjabov I.N., Ryabtsev I.A., Tikhomirov F.F., Shevchenko V.A., and A.I. Taskaev. 1993. “Ecological and genetic consequences of the Chernobyl atomic power plant accident.” Vegetado 109: 91-99

30 Richards, Z.T. et al. 2008. “Bikini Atoll coral biodiversity resilience five decades after nuclear testing.” Marine Pollution Bulletin 56: 503-515.

31 Hazen, T.C. et al. 2010. “Deep-Sea Oil Plume Enriches Indigenous Oil-Degrading Bacteria.” Science 330: 204-208

32 Collins, J.P. et al. 2009. “Sonora Tiger Salamander Recovery Plan.” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. http://www.usbr.gov/lc/phoenix/biology/azfish/pdf/SonTigSalRpt.pdf

33 Frank, K. T. et al. 2011. “Transient dynamics of an altered large marine ecosystem.” Nature 477: 86–89.

34 Wilderness Act of 1964. Public Law 88-577 (16 U.S. C. 1131 1136) 88th Congress, Second Session September 3, 1964.

35 Vitousek, P.M. et al. 1997. “Human Domination of Earth’s Ecosystems.” Science 277: 494.

36 Krausmann, F. et al. 2009. “Growth in global materials use, GDP and population during the 20th century.” Ecological Economics 68(10): 2696-2705.

37 Marshall, A.J. et al. 2006. “The blowgun is mightier than the chainsaw in determining population density of Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus morio) in the forests of East Kalimantan.” Biological Conservation 129: 566-578.

38 Marshall, A.J. et al. 2006. “The blowgun is mightier than the chainsaw in determining population density of Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus morio) in the forests of East Kalimantan.” Biological Conservation 129: 566-578.

THE PLANET OF NO RETURN

Human resilience on an artificial earth

Erle Ellis

Over the last several decades, a consensus has grown among scientists that humans have become the dominant ecological force on the planet. According to these scientists, we are now living in the Anthropocene, a new geological epoch shaped by humans1. While some have hailed this forward-looking vision of the planet, others have linked this view with the perennial concern that human civilization has exceeded the carrying capacity of Earth’s natural systems and may thus be fundamentally unsustainable.2 In this article, I argue that this latter notion rests upon a series of assumptions that are inconsistent with contemporary science on how humans interact with ecosystems, as well as with most historical and archeological evidence.

Ever since early humans discovered fire and the benefits of collaborative systems such as collective hunting and social learning, human systems, not the classic biophysical limits that still constrain other species, have set the wider envelope for human population growth and prosperity. It was not planetary boundaries, but human system boundaries that constrained human development in the Holocene, the geological epoch that we have just left. We should expect no less in the Anthropocene.

Humans have dramatically altered natural systems — converting forests to farmlands, damming rivers, driving some species to extinction and domesticating others, altering the nitrogen and carbon cycles, and warming the globe — and yet the Earth has become more productive and more capable of supporting the human population.3 This process has dramatically intensified in recent centuries at a rate unprecedented in Earth’s (and human) history,4 but there is little evidence to date that this dynamic has been fundamentally altered. While the onset of the Anthropocene carries new ecological and social risks, human systems such as agriculture have proven extraordinarily resilient to environmental and social challenges, responding robustly to population pressures, soil exhaustion, and climate fluctuations over millennia, from a global perspective.

Though the sustainability of human civilization may not be at stake, we must still take our responsibilities as planetary stewards more seriously than ever. As the scale and power of human systems continue to increase at accelerating rates, we are awakening to a new world of