Gill speaks to Physics World about the term ‘Anthropocene’
Jacquelyn Gill, associate professor of paleoecology and plant ecology at the University of Maine, spoke to Physics World about the term “Anthropocene,” which geologists have not yet fully defined despite the fact that the term has entered the public discourse. “I think, in a lot of ways, the cat’s out of the bag. … What an event framework allows us to do is to characterize the Anthropocene in the way that it’s already being used by the broader public, by journalists, by historians, environmentalists, etc. — all of whom sort of use the word as almost a metaphor for the suite of activities that humans do that leave a marked impact on the planet,” Gill said.