From where and when can we say the Anthropocene has started? The Anthropocene Working Group (AWG) is currently voting on which site will be recommended to the Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy as the geological reference point for the start of the Anthropocene epoch. What difference will this make to our understanding of the Anthropocene? What implications does choosing any one site carry? How might this change our understanding of the historical and political processes that produced the Anthropocene?

In advance of the AWG’s final proposal, this seminar will explore some of these questions with members of the AWG by thinking about three major marker types – plutonium, fly ash (SCPs) and plastics – and their implications.

This seminar is free to attend but booking is required – all welcome.