Opinion
The Anthropocene: Too Serious for Post-Modern Games
In his post “Against the Anthropocene”, Kieran Suckling makes two main arguments. The first is that the choice of “Anthropocene” as the name for the new epoch breaks with stratigraphic tradition; he feels uncomfortable with a change in tradition, not least because he suspects the break reflects a hidden political
Ecologists Butt Out: You Are Not Entitled to Redefine the Anthropocene
Why is it that some of those who publish scientific papers about “the Anthropocene” have such a profoundly mistaken understanding of what the concept means? And why do referees and journal editors let the papers through? I was exasperated by this again on reading another paper on the starting date
The New Environmentalism Will Lead Us To Disaster
The New Environmentalism Will Lead Us To Disaster So-called ecopragmatists say we can have a “good Anthropocene.” They’re dead wrong. Clive Hamilton Published in Scientific American, 19 June 2014 Fourteen years ago, when a frustrated Paul Crutzen blurted out the word “Anthropocene” at a scientific meeting in Mexico, the famous
The Delusion of the “Good Anthropocene”: Reply to Andrew Revkin
Andrew Revkin Dot Earth blog New York Times Dear Andy Thanks for sending the link to your talk on “Charting Paths to a ‘Good’ Anthropocene”. Since you ask for responses let me express my view bluntly. In short, I think those who argue for the “good Anthropocene” are unscientific and
The Dirty Dozen: Australia’s biggest climate foes
Who are the 12 people doing the most to block action on climate change in Australia? With a new government in place, and Australia’s emissions stubbornly high, we name and shame a fresh Dirty Dozen … Who has been most responsible in recent times for preventing progress in the reduction
Steep emissions cuts needed or we’ll blow Australia’s carbon budget: climate authority
The Climate Change Authority’s new report on emission reduction targets makes a compelling argument for Australia to go much further in cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Instead of the current target of a 5% cut, it recommends emission reductions of 19% by 2020 and 40%-to-60% by 2030 as a responsible path
More Posts:
Free Speech vs Gender Dogma
First posted on Substack August 26, 2026 Part of the crowd at the rally This is the speech I gave to the ‘Restore Women’s Rights’
On Jizz and Bird Worlds
First published on my Substack August 15, 2026 In the world of birding, “jizz” is a fascinating but little-used term (perhaps little used because of
The lesbian phallus, and how it found its way into the Federal Court of Australia
First published on Substack June 30, 2026 In May, the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia ruled that Sall Grover, the proprietor of a women-only
The Rise of Resilience Power, and Odd Arne Westad’s Climate Disavowal
First published on my Substack June 16, 2026 The Coming Storm, the new book by Yale historian Odd Arne Westad on great powers and the prospects