Transcript Clock of the Long Now - University of Cambridge

Telling Stories of Change
History is the stories of who ‘we’ are…
and where we have come from
Responsibility and historymaking
UNESCO and the
social responsibility
of science 1940s
The Global Change Community
World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE
CHANGE (IPCC)
The Anthropocene
The Anthropocene defines the
momentous and historical
change in circumstances
whereby the biophysical
systems of the world are now
no longer independent of the
actions of people. It is the
Geological Epoch dominated
by humans.
What will IHOPE do?
An integrated history from IHOPE will provide a rich
picture of how (and why) the planet and human societies
have changed in historical times. [It will] unravel Earth
system changes through analysis of the coupled
human-environmental system to understand…the
importance of environmental dynamics on the evolution
of society, and …how ….human activities contribute to
the observed changes in Earth system dynamics.
IHOPE Science Plan v. 4 6.9 (August 2006), p. 4
History for the
Anthropocene
Libby Robin and Will Steffen,
Fenner School of Environment and
Society, Australian National
University and Centre for Historical
Research, National Museum of
Australia
Vol. 5, July 2007
http://www.blackwellcompass.com/subject/history/section_home?section=hico-world
History for sustainability
Sustainability does not aim for a singular
‘steady state’, but rather the best possible
dynamic for dwelling in the world, taking into
account the needs of economy, society and
environment.