Introduction:
In recent years researchers, scientists, environmentalists, philosophers and others have all begun to emphasise the importance of recognising the ways in which human activity has continued to be a threat to various ecosystems, hugely impacting fauna and flora throughout the world [Steffen, 2011]. To help people understand the impact that humans have had on the environment since the economic and industrial boom of the mid-twentieth century, geological scientists have introduced a new global epoch, called the Anthropocene.
The Anthropocene epoch is described as having started either as early as the eighteenth century or in the 1950’s and is the successor to the Holocene epoch [Gisli, 2013], which had lasted for over thirteen thousand years beforehand. This transition is of global significance as it aptly reflects the way in which humanity’s drive for production and consumption is wreaking havoc on the environment all across the world (previous blogpost). This blog post seeks to analyse the effects that the dawning of the Anthropocene has had on the environment around us, by referring to papers written by experts on the topic, observing the soundscapes of the urban environment, as well as studying the effect that this epoch has had on birdlife in urban environments.
Key Propositions of the Anthropocene:
Due to the Anthropocene epoch, natural ecosystems have thus far been the ones who have suffered the most. South Africa is a diverse country home to several unique environmental biomes that house a great variety of fauna and flora. Unfortunately the effects of the Anthropocene have over the last half century polluted and destroyed many of these ecosystems. The WWF (World Wildlife Fund) has identified several of these biomes that are at risk due to destruction of habit and pollution. These include but are not limited to the Fynbos, the Karoo, the Enkangala Grasslands and the Maputaland-Pondoland [WWF, 2014]. These are all key areas that are seen as at risk where both animal and plant life are unique to this specific environment and are vulnerable of becoming endangered or even extinct.
The Soundscapes of the Anthropocene:
Over the last two days I have kept track of the dominant sounds I have heard around me in different environments to see how much the development of the Anthropocene has had an effect on the soundscapes of twenty-first century urban areas. As someone who lives in an apartment building, in the heart of a South African city, I have grown accustomed to a myriad of artificial sounds. The screeching of tires, the honking of horns, the incessant thrumming of car engines, the roar of aeroplanes above, the wailing of police sirens, and the near incomprehensible mingle of voices in the street below. These are all sounds I have learned to ignore and now I hardly ever take notice of any of it.
The Anthropocene saw major advances in further urbanisation that resulted in humans furthering the distance between them and nature. The sounds of the city that have separated us as humans from the natural environment are symptoms of the Anthropocene epoch. We are more familiar with the sounds of a car spluttering and releasing volumes of smoke than the songs of birds in the morning, or the echoing cries of bats at night. It is important to think about the fact that if the soundscape of the Anthropocene is so evident, what other effects has it had on the environment around us?
Songs of Birds in the Anthropocene:
Nowadays it’s very difficult to try and listen to birds in the Anthropocene. There are far fewer birds now in our urban landscapes than there were even just fifty years ago. Pollution, deforestation, and hunting or extermination of animals has all led to a massive decrease in wildlife found in cities. We have made animals and birds unwelcome in areas that were once their natural habitats.
Other than hadeda ibises, doves and pigeons, I have heard very few, if any, other birds. This is a clear reflection of the dwindling biodiversity of bird species in urban settings and points to, just yet again, another way in which the Anthropocene has negatively impacted the environment. Many bird species have migrated or simply died out in certain areas as they are no longer finding the urbanised environments sustainable or safe. Where there once were many different varieties of birds, such as owls, cranes and falcons, there are now screaming aeroplanes and barbed balconies.
Besides there being so few birds to listen to in the centre of town, as someone born just a few years before the turn of the millennium, I have had very little training in the identifying of animals in any form. So not only are there very few birds, but it is also difficult for me to listen to birds nowadays because I don’t even know what I’m listening to. This ignorance on my part can be seen as another symptom of the Anthropocene: I am so involved in my urban lifestyle that the way in which I conduct my life and interact with that which is around me, is completely divorced from nature and the biodiversity of species in my vicinity.
Days of Our Elders:
Upon talking to my parents and grandparents about the animals and nature that used to be all around them when they were growing up, I discovered that they could easily recall several birds that they no longer saw anymore, or at least not as often anymore. Three types of birds that my parents managed to easily think of that they don’t see around much more were: hoopoes, sparrows, and red-chested cuckoos (piet-my-vrous). My parents and grandparents did not even have to think for very long before coming up with more examples and lamenting the destruction of local nature.
My parents, specifically my mother, often brought up the fact that all the pollution of people discarding waste (particularly plastic) incorrectly in the cities has chased away a lot of animals and birds that used to be seen all around the city. My mother would go on to say that she is concerned about the ways in which our cities in South Africa are getting worse. Although my mother was unaware of what the Anthropocene is, she did however mention the fact that because humans feel the need to produce products with unrecyclable materials, we have severely continued to hurt the planet. My mother briefly spoke about how production of consumables has changed a lot since when she was a child. Nowadays factories mar the visage of our skylines far more frequently than ever before, releasing toxic gasses into the skies at an alarming rate. The plastic pollution of our streets and the polluting of air coming from factories were two of my mother’s main concerns.
Conclusion:
As can be seen in the testimonies of my parents and grandparents nature in our urban landscape has changed significantly since the dawn of the Anthropocene. Sounds of birds and other animals have mostly been replaced by the sounds of cars on the road and other industrial sounds. We have traded the natural beauty and serenity of nature in for a product of our own creation: consumerism. This is reflected in the loss of ecosystems and biodiversity of nature in urban environments.
A fascinating short video that illustrates beautifully just how dramatic it would be if nature fought back against humanity in the same way we destroy trees and other plant-life.
References:
Gisli, P et al. 2013. Reconceptualizing the ‘Anthropos’ in the Anthropocene: integrating the social sciences and humanities in global environmental change research. Environmental Science & Policy 28:3-13.
Steffen, W et al. 2011. The Anthropocene: conceptual and historical perspectives. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 369:842-867.
Waters, CN et al. 2016. The Anthropocene is functionally and stratigraphically distinct from the Holocene. Science 351(6269):[sp].
Whitehouse, A. 2015. Listening to birds in the Anthropocene: the anxious semiotics of sound in a human-dominated world. Environmental Humanities 6:53-71.
WWF, 2014. What We Do. [Online] Available from: http://www.wwf.org.za/what_we_do [Accessed: 07/04/2016]
gettingreener, the blog 
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