A 21st Century Environmentalism

The Anthropocene.

It's what geologists have begun to call the current era of Earth's history, one which is destructively staking its claim in the geological record.

The rate at which humans are burning carbon-based fossil fuels is having an immense impact on the earth. Processes which have historically taken thousands (if not millions) of years to leave their mark, are now taking place over a mere century.

In September of last year, atmospheric carbon dioxide failed to fall below the 400 parts per million threshold set by climate scientists, above which the impacts of climate change will be catastrophic. 2016 also saw the "death" of the Great Barrier Reef, with ocean warming destroying one of the world's most precious marine ecosystems. Research released by the World Wildlife Fund concluded that, barring change in current trends, we could see a 67% decline in the planet's vertebrate species by 2020.

In the face of this unprecedented crisis, where have environmentalists been? The response of the environmental community can't be said not to have had positive effects; we would likely be much worse off if not for the work of these groups. Nevertheless, the downward spiral continues, despite ever more environmental NGOs, some large, organized, and well funded. If accepting the fact that mainstream environmentalism has failed, what then, should 21st century environmentalism look like?