--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Anthropocene essentially would be the…" description: "\"The Anthropocene essentially would be the time of human influence on the planet. That's controversial though, because geology is a retrospective discip..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2a/kenneth-lacovara-44610_controversial_the-anthropocene-essentially-would-be-th_910126.jpg" --- # The Anthropocene essentially would be the time of human… ![“The Anthropocene essentially would be the time of human influence on the planet. That's controversial though, because geology is a retrospective discipline. The rocks of the Anthropocene haven't been deposited yet, really.” quote by Kenneth Lacovara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2a/kenneth-lacovara-44610_controversial_the-anthropocene-essentially-would-be-th_910126.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2a/kenneth-lacovara-44610_controversial_the-anthropocene-essentially-would-be-th_910126.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2a/kenneth-lacovara-44610_controversial_the-anthropocene-essentially-would-be-th_910126.jpg) > “The Anthropocene essentially would be the time of human influence on the planet. That's controversial though, because geology is a retrospective discipline. The rocks of the Anthropocene haven't been deposited yet, really.” [Kenneth Lacovara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-lacovara/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human activity now shapes Earth's systems, but geologists define epochs after the fact, making the Anthropocene concept debated. **In simple terms:** Humans impact Earth, but naming the era is controversial. Key Takeaway Recognize influence, question definitions. Themes environment geology human impact Mood thoughtful analytical Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - policy making - environmental education - scientific debate Key Concepts anthropocene epoch definition geologic time Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance scientific rigor with urgent environmental action? - Should naming influence policy? A Different Perspective Geologic records lag behind current changes, limiting formal recognition. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Controversial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/controversial/) [Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) [Geology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/geology/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Retrospective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retrospective/) [Rocks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rocks/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Now, humans have become a dominant force of planetary change and, thus, we may have entered an eon of post-biological evolution in which cognitive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/now-humans-have-become-a-dominant-force-of-planetary-change-and-thus/) [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) > [The future is in our hands. We are not hapless bystanders. We can influence whether we have a planet of peace, social justice, equity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolfensohn/the-future-is-in-our-hands-we-are-not-hapless-bystanders-we-can/) [James Wolfensohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolfensohn/) > [F For Fake is a talentless concoction of unparalleled ineptitude... It would have been a more generous gesture to show a retrospective of old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-reed/f-for-fake-is-a-talentless-concoction-of-unparalleled-ineptitude-it/) [Rex Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-reed/) > [I went to the big Picasso retrospective at the Tate in the sixties, and I think I went to an Andy Warhol retrospective at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-faithfull/i-went-to-the-big-picasso-retrospective-at-the-tate-in-the-sixties/) [Marianne Faithfull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-faithfull/) > [The left hemisphere acts as an "interpreter," watching the actions and behaviors of the body and assigning a coherent narrative to these events. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/the-left-hemisphere-acts-as-an-interpreter-watching-the-actions-and/) [David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) > [I've always been interested in people that you wouldn't see otherwise. If you look back at my books, photographs, and films-and since I'm doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-clark/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-people-that-you-wouldn-t-see-otherwise/) [Larry Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-clark/) > [Novels are completed when they are finished, but the memoir changes its own conclusion by virtue of being written... I was not at all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/novels-are-completed-when-they-are-finished-but-the-memoir-changes/) [Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/) > [My business is retrospective = I'm looking at the past, they all passed away - and it's a big pleasure, that's the point of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-seguin/my-business-is-retrospective-i-m-looking-at-the-past-they-all-passed/) [Patrick Seguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-seguin/) > [I am not really sure that Diana Vreeland did Yves Saint Laurent a favor, as opposed to the world, by putting that exhibition at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-menkes/i-am-not-really-sure-that-diana-vreeland-did-yves-saint-laurent-a/) [Suzy Menkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-menkes/) > [“Everybody becomes wise when the moment is gone. Retrospective wisdom is worthless. When you are picking on something, at that very moment become aware,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/everybody-becomes-wise-when-the-moment-is-gone-retrospective-wisdom/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [As an historical novelist – there are few jobs more retrospective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/as-an-historical-novelist-there-are-few-jobs-more-retrospective/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [I felt most beautiful on the red carpet in Givenchy's sheer lace dress at a dinner hosted by Givenchy in honor of Marina Abramovich…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-smalls/i-felt-most-beautiful-on-the-red-carpet-in-givenchy-s-sheer-lace/) [Joan Smalls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-smalls/) > [In politics, as in womanizing, failure is decisive. It sheds its retrospective gloom on earlier endeavor which at the time seemed full of promise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/in-politics-as-in-womanizing-failure-is-decisive-it-sheds-its/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [A brilliant 1989 album, Oh Mercy; some career retrospectives; and two albums of American folk songs, with just Bob Dylan and his guitar and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/a-brilliant-1989-album-oh-mercy-some-career-retrospectives-and-two/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [As an historical novelist - there are few jobs more retrospective. I dumped science at an early age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/as-an-historical-novelist-there-are-few-jobs-more-retrospective-i/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) ## More by Kenneth Lacovara > [In our case, we are in the Cenozoic Era, which started at the end of the time of the dinosaurs. We are in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-lacovara/in-our-case-we-are-in-the-cenozoic-era-which-started-at-the-end-of/) [Kenneth Lacovara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-lacovara/) > [If you were back in the Cretaceous Period - the last of the time of the dinosaurs - and you were driving from New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-lacovara/if-you-were-back-in-the-cretaceous-period-the-last-of-the-time-of-the/) [Kenneth Lacovara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-lacovara/) > [There's no doubt if you could go 5, 10, 15 million years into the future and dig down to 2016, you would be able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-lacovara/there-s-no-doubt-if-you-could-go-5-10-15-million-years-into-the/) [Kenneth Lacovara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-lacovara/) > [If we want to know how the Earth's biosphere is going to respond to the things that humans are doing to the planet right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-lacovara/if-we-want-to-know-how-the-earth-s-biosphere-is-going-to-respond-to/) [Kenneth Lacovara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-lacovara/) > [We're changing things, in many cases in irreparable ways, and that will certainly be recorded in the geological record.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-lacovara/we-re-changing-things-in-many-cases-in-irreparable-ways-and-that-will/) [Kenneth Lacovara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-lacovara/) > [The technical definition of the Holocene has to do with the extinction of a snail species in Sicily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-lacovara/the-technical-definition-of-the-holocene-has-to-do-with-the/) [Kenneth Lacovara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-lacovara/) > [When the dinosaurs go extinct and 75 percent of life goes extinct after a meteor hits the planet, that's an era boundary. That's when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-lacovara/when-the-dinosaurs-go-extinct-and-75-percent-of-life-goes-extinct/) [Kenneth Lacovara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-lacovara/) > [Certainly, we have entered into a new age on our planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-lacovara/certainly-we-have-entered-into-a-new-age-on-our-planet/) [Kenneth Lacovara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-lacovara/) [Explore all 9 Kenneth Lacovara quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-lacovara/) ## More Controversial quotes > [I'd be very controversial if I said why, and I don't do controversial anymore. That's too passé. So last year. Being controversial is boring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/i-d-be-very-controversial-if-i-said-why-and-i-don-t-do-controversial/) M.I.A > [Ninety-eight percent of the things that come out of my mouth are intended to be harmless or even charming. They're not ever intended to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-fox/ninety-eight-percent-of-the-things-that-come-out-of-my-mouth-are/) [Megan Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-fox/) > [For a lot of women, one of the hardest things about leadership is the desire to be liked by everyone. That's often inconsistent with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-weddington/for-a-lot-of-women-one-of-the-hardest-things-about-leadership-is-the/) [Sarah Weddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-weddington/) > [The chief beneficiary of life insurance policies for young, single people is the life insurance agent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-smith/the-chief-beneficiary-of-life-insurance-policies-for-young-single/) [Wes Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-smith/) > [If art is singular expression, then by nature, the best art is controversial. But when art stirs debate for reasons besides its artistic integrity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ridley/if-art-is-singular-expression-then-by-nature-the-best-art-is/) [John Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ridley/) > [Here - at this final hour, Harlem has come to bid farewell to one of its brightest hopes - extinguished now, and gone from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ossie-davis/here-at-this-final-hour-harlem-has-come-to-bid-farewell-to-one-of-its/) [Ossie Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ossie-davis/) > [Those who misrepresent the normal experiences of life, who decry being controversial, who shun risk, are the enemies of the American way of life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wriston/those-who-misrepresent-the-normal-experiences-of-life-who-decry-being/) [Henry Wriston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wriston/) > [“My personal analysis is that the media have made the AI-safety debate seem more controversial than it really is. After all, fear sells, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-tegmark/my-personal-analysis-is-that-the-media-have-made-the-ai-safety-debate/) [Max Tegmark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-tegmark/) > [I think if I'm controversial it's not because I set out to be. It's because I've never felt comfortable being part of someone else's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/i-think-if-i-m-controversial-it-s-not-because-i-set-out-to-be-it-s/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [I was very willing to take on controversial roles that people didn't really want to look at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-perez/i-was-very-willing-to-take-on-controversial-roles-that-people-didn-t/) [Rosie Perez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-perez/) > [I get called 'controversial' all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moore/i-get-called-controversial-all-the-time/) [Michael Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moore/) > [ I curated this show \[Shanghai Biennale \], I was by no means trying to shock people or be controversial. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-curated-this-show-shanghai-biennale-i-was-by-no-means-trying-to/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [“When you fear nothing, you have nothing to fear”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-f-chandler/when-you-fear-nothing-you-have-nothing-to-fear/) S.F. Chandler > [I've been a very effective leader in the gay rights movement, though at times I've been controversial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-o-leary/i-ve-been-a-very-effective-leader-in-the-gay-rights-movement-though/) [Jean O'Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-o-leary/) > [“At the time, though, vaccination was controversial. Many were opposed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-wright/at-the-time-though-vaccination-was-controversial-many-were-opposed/) [Jennifer Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-wright/) [Browse all 486 Controversial quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/controversial/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The Anthropocene essentially would be the time of human influence on the planet. That's controversial though, because geology is a retrospective discipline. The rocks of the Anthropocene haven't been deposited yet, really.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kenneth Lacovara" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-lacovara/the-anthropocene-essentially-would-be-the-time-of-human-influence-on/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Controversial" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-lacovara/the-anthropocene-essentially-would-be-the-time-of-human-influence-on/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2a/kenneth-lacovara-44610_controversial_the-anthropocene-essentially-would-be-th_910126.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2a/kenneth-lacovara-44610_controversial_the-anthropocene-essentially-would-be-th_910126.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2a/kenneth-lacovara-44610_controversial_the-anthropocene-essentially-would-be-th_910126.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The Anthropocene essentially would be the time of human influence on the planet. That's controversial…” — Kenneth Lacovara", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Kenneth Lacovara", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-lacovara/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The Anthropocene essentially would be the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-lacovara/the-anthropocene-essentially-would-be-the-time-of-human-influence-on/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-lacovara/the-anthropocene-essentially-would-be-the-time-of-human-influence-on/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```