A recent article in Nature outlines the debate surrounding a movement to establish the Anthropocene as a new global epoch. The Anthropocene refers to the part of the world’s history where humans significantly impact earth systems. In the article, Erle Ellis, geography and information systems, argues against the current effort to formalize the Anthropocene as an epoch. He states, “We should set a time, perhaps 1,000 years from now, in which we would officially investigate this. Making a decision before that would be premature.” Click here to read, “Anthropocene: The human age” in Nature.