Recently, many scientists have introduced the notion that we have reached the end of the Holocene Epoch (a time in which early hominids began to evolve and bipedalism became the preferred mechanism of travel among our ancestors). We have entered into what many are calling the “Anthropocene.” A term popularized in 2000 by a Nobel Prize winner who wrote extensively about human impacts on the ozone layer, Anthropocene implies that we are living in a human-made period of geologic time. It means that we are the only species to have marked our presence on the earth by our actions rather than the natural, catastrophic events that have historically resulted in mass extinction and wild evolutionary trends.

Given our species’ remarkable population increase since the Industrial Revolution, (a time that many scientists suggest marks the beginning of the Anthropocene Era), the title of the Era makes sense because “Anthro” means human. Due to our remarkable capacity to increase carbon emissions to our atmosphere and diminish the integrity of our protective ozone layer, it’s reasonable to conclude that the shifting era in geologic time we are experiencing is home-grown and human-made. It is not caused by the volcanic eruptions or meteorite bombardments that characterize other geologic time periods. We’ve managed to swing the geologic pendulum all on our own as contemporary humans. Wow, we are powerful!

Last week, at the 21st Century Learning in Natural History Settings Conference held at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, I learned that it’s not just environmentalists and climate scientists who are jumping up and down trying to call attention to the impact humans have on our planet. Natural historians, and collectors of fossil evidence around the globe are joining the cacophony of concern. That we have a role in this Anthropocene period is undisputed.

My suggestion, and that of renowned scientists such as Kirk Johnson, vice president and chief curator of research and collections at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, is that we embrace our power to change the earth and endeavor to reverse our negative impacts since the dawn of our new era. He and his natural history colleagues from the most famed museums in the world hope that we humans leave a fossil record for Earth’s next sentient inhabitants that illustrates our ingenuity and capacity for longevity. And that we unify to repair, rather than expedite, our impacts on this planet before our opportunity to inhabit Earth ends sooner than our species would like.

In my humble opinion, our new role in this Anthropocene period can be one of creation rather than deterioration. At NatureBridge, we hope to inspire innovation and responsible actions on Earth by connecting youth to our incredible, natural world.

For more information, including highlights and recorded keynote addresses from the 21st Century Learning in Natural History Settings Conference, check out the wiki site created by the conference organizers: http://21centurylearningnmnh.wikispaces.com/