Here's a list of digital resources that can help non-specialists jump around the multi-dimensional layers of information the Internet has about the Anthropocene.
This includes a list of relevant international agencies, research centres, activist networks, and educational resources. We list them by resource name, with an explanation of what they're doing in the Anthropocene and a link to their websites. This collection of digital resources should help create relationships between actors from different fields. These include the arts, technoscience, designs, late capitalism, climate crisis and post-humanism , as drivers of this new approach to knowledge for the Anthropocene. We used a weighted Google ranking followed by a Delphi consult. Following each item is the source, indicated by a number in square brackets.
A list of all sources is included at the end. There's no ranking intention behind this exercise, and we're aware there's probably been important omissions. Consider this an initial list to build from in the future. Updates will be carried out regularly.
The departing point for this initiative was the book chapter by Paulo David Soasti-Bareta
(2021). A directory of digital resources about the Anthropocene. In Knowledge for The Anthropocene. Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 76-97.
Your contributions and feedback are welcome at: info@worldcapitalinstitute.org.
Resources
1
10 in 10
10 in 10 indicates that its “mission is to tackle ten global challenges in ten years”. Their ten global challenges include: Climate Crisis, Water, Agriculture & Food, Gender Inequality, Youth Unemployment, Social Housing, Mental Health, Early Years (Children Under 5), Structural Racism, and Artificial Intelligence.
2
10000 changes
This project promotes commitment to rethinking plastics as part of everyday life. It raises the so-called “New 3R's model: Refuse, Replace and Reimagine”. 1000 changes invites citizens to rethink their relations with plastic, through the principles of the circular economy and the sharing economy.
3
350
An international movement of citizens working to end the age of fossil fuels and build a world of community-led renewable energy for all. It is named after 350 parts per million — the safe concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
4
Alliance of World Scientists (AWS)
AWS is a new international assembly of scientists. They state that “to avoid widespread misery caused by catastrophic damage to the biosphere, humanity must practice more environmentally sustainable alternative to business-as-usual.” They react to the “scientists' unique responsibility as stewards of human knowledge and champions of evidence-based decision-making”.
5
Anthropocene and Digital Technologies
This resource offers an experimental way of navigating through the website by combining traditional keyword searches with the results of network analysis on subjects related to the Anthropocene phenomenon.
6
Anthropocene Arts – beyond Higgs
In constructing an “Anthropocene Thinking”, this initiative aims at developing a conscious, mature attitude to develop human relationship with Earth. Such process involves abandoning the “largely naive behaviour of dealing with the Earth in a subordinate way to our own basic needs alone”.
7
Anthropocene Curriculum
This initiative explores “frameworks for critical knowledge and education in our transition into a new geological epoch”. It draws together heterogeneous knowledge practices, from academics, artists, and activists to co-develop curricular experiments that collectively respond to this geo-global crisis.
8
Anthropocene Knowledge
Part of the Anthropocene umbrella project sponsored by MPIWG. “This research area addresses questions of relevance for a historical epistemology of Anthropocene-related practice fields, such as (pre-)industrial chemistry, Earth system and climate sciences, risk assessment, historiography, and the current transformation of scholarship”.
9
Broken Nature: Design Takes on Human Survival
Broken Nature exhibits material explorations visualising the links between objects, the planet, and people. Restorative design is introduced as a means to make sense of global posthumanist problems in the Anthropocene.
10
Cape Farewell
Cape Farewell is a “project to instigate a cultural response to the climate challenge”. They claim to bring together artist, scientists, and communicators to “stimulate a cultural narrative that will engage and inspire a sustainable and vibrant future society”. This engagement is intended “to evolve and amplify a creative language to communicate the urgency of the global climate challenge”.
11
Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES)
Formerly Pew Research, C2ES has as mission: “to advance strong policy and action for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, promote clean energy, and strengthen resilience to climate impacts”. To achieve it they claim to conduct their operation on three mains areas: Politics, Cutting carbon emissions, and education on Climate Basics.
12
Centre for Humans & Nature
This organization allegedly questions the traditional economic concept of nature as a raw material for human use, and the human control over nature. They believe this disintegrative perspective ignores current scientific knowledge and distorts our sense of self, nature, community, economy, and democracy. They propose new approaches to coexistence between humans and nature.
13
Centre for International Environmental Law (CIEL)
This Centre focuses on the environmental aspects of law applying political and legal power to defend the environment, as well as the promotion of human rights and access to a sustainable society. They claim to achieve their goals through legal research, advocacy, educational programs, and legal training, centring their operations on engaging with local non-profit partners across the world.
14
Climate Advocacy Lab
Designed for climate practitioners—advocates, social scientists, data experts and funders—the Lab promotes effective tools and tactics for engaging US citizens on climate emergency. The Interactive Tools provide easy access to helpful climate crisis information, while the Resource Library, research and articles relates to public engagement efforts.
15
Climate and Clean Air Coalition
This organization helps their partners “to create policies and practices that will deliver substantial reductions in short-lived climate pollutant emissions”. They support actions on the ground through their eleven Initiatives: Heavy-Duty Vehicles, Oil and Gas, Waste, Bricks, Hydrofluorocarbons, Household Energy, Agriculture, Efficient Cooling, Supporting National Action and Planning, Finance, Assessments, and Health. Resources and training are provided through their Action Program to Address the 1.5°C Challenge.
16
Climate Change Library
Offers legal information regarding Anthropocene’s issues, addresses topics of sustainable development, climate crisis, among others from an international legal perspective. It offers a list of regulations, books, journals, statistical data, and organizations. It is carried out by Prof. Whitney Curtis.
17
Climate Science Special Report (CSSR)
Published by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, deals with the climate variables that evidence global climate heating. It proposes detection methods that characterize temperature, precipitation, ocean level, drought, floods, fires, ocean acidification, and large-scale circulation variables, in order to develop climate models, scenarios, and future projections of climate crisis.
18
ClimateClock
A mixture of design and technology that seeks to raise awareness about carbon consumption we have nowadays. It shows two numbers, the first in red, it’s a timer that indicates how much time we have until we consume our "carbon budget", this is our deadline to keep the heating threshold below 1.5 ° C; the second number, in green, indicates the world percentage of energy from renewable sources. This is our lifeline. “Simply put, our challenge is to get our lifeline to 100% before our deadline reaches 0”.
19
Climate Emergency EU
An open letter to global leaders with demands to act on the Climate Emergency.
20
Common Sense Education (CSE)
CSE offers educational resources to cope with the future consequences of the Anthropocene. The platform breaks things down into a set of causes, effects and potential solutions on climate change.
21
Connect4Climate
Seeks to promote leadership, collective actions and disruptive solutions that change the course of actions that have brought us to the Anthropocene. It’s promoted by a partnership between the World Bank, the Italian Ministry of Environment, and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development.