Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Animal Ethics in the Age of Humans pp 1–22Cite as

Changing Relationships with Non-human Animals in the Anthropocene—An Introduction

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Abstract

In this introduction, we will address the following topics. The first section will deal with the Anthropocene—What is it? When did it start? How did it develop? The second section will show how the concept works as a major bone of contention that divides the academic into those who consider the Anthropocene a planetary catastrophe and those who embrace the human domination over the Earth as a great achievement. The third section considers the biodiversity conservation options in the age of humans. The fourth and final section will provide an overview of this volume.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    http://quaternary.stratigraphy.org/workinggroups/anthropocene/.

  2. 2.

    For an extensive discussion, see Braje (2015, 373–380).

  3. 3.

    Recently, a fourth process—land-system change—has been added to this list (Steffen et al. 2015).

  4. 4.

    It is no surprise that Bruckner’s book has been welcomed by skeptical organizations, and that he was guest of the UK’s Global Warming Policy Foundation, the UK’s most prominent source of climate-change denial, delivering a presentation on his book in April 2013 at the House of Lords.

  5. 5.

    http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jul/02/green-movement-lost-its-way?INTCMP=SRCH.

  6. 6.

    As Hunter et al. (2014, 664) have pointed out regarding the battle between the two camps: “The conservation arena is large enough to accommodate many people and organizations whose diverse values lead them to different niches that can, with good will and foresight, be far more complementary than competitive”.

  7. 7.

    “The indigenous range of a species is the known or inferred distribution generated from historical (written or verbal) records, or physical evidence of the species’ occurrence” (IUNC/SSC 2013, p. 2).

  8. 8.

    “Restoration ecology’s emphasis on restoring environments with native species affirmed the importance of invasion ecology, and invasion ecology’s emphasis on the harm caused by a small proportion of introduced species provided important justification for restoration ecology’s preference for native species” (Davis 2006, 49).

References

  • Braje, T.J. 2015. Earth systems, human agency, and the anthropocene: planet Earth in the humane age. Journal of Archaeological Research 23(4): 369–396.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brand, S. (1968–85). Whole World Catalog.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brand, S. 2009. Whole Earth discipline: an ecopragmatist Manifesto. New York: Viking Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Braverman, I. 2014. Captive for life: conserving extinct in the wild species through ex situ breeding. In The ethics of captivity, ed. L. Gruen, 193–212. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Braverman, I. 2015. Wild life. The institution of nature. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bruckner, P. 2013. The fanaticism of the apocalypse: save the Earth, punish human beings. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chapin III, F.S., and A.M. Starfield. 1997. Time lags and novel ecosystems in response to transient climatic change in artic Alaska. Climatic Change 35: 449–461.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Choi, Y.D. 2004. Theories for ecological restoration in changing environment: toward “futuristic” restoration. Ecological Research 19: 75–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Choi, Y.D., V.M. Temperton, E.B. Allen, A.P. Grootjans, M. Halassy, R.J. Hobbs, M.A. Naeth, and K. Torok. 2008. Ecological restoration for future sustainability in a changing environment. Ecoscience 15(1): 53–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corlett, R.T. 2015. The anthropocene concept in ecology and conservation. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 30(1): 36–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crutzen, P.J. 2002. Geology of mankind. Nature 415(6867): 23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crutzen, P.J., and E.F. Stroemer. 2000. The “anthropocene”. IGBP Newsletter 41: 17–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, M. 2006. Invasion biology 1958–2005: the pursuit of science and conservation. In Conceptual ecology and invasion biology, ed. M.W. Cadotte, S.M. McMahon, and T. Fukami, 35–64. London: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, M., R. Hobbs, A. Lugo, J. Ewel, G. Vermeij, J. Brown, M. Rosenzweig, M. Gardener, S. Carroll, et al. 2011. Don’t judge species on their origins. Nature 474: 153–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donlan, J., et al. 2005. Re-wilding North America. Nature 436: 913–914.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donlan, J., et al. 2006. Pleistocene rewilding: an optimistic agenda for twenty-first century conservation. The American Naturalist 168: 160–183.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, E. 2012. The planet of no return: human resilience on an artificial Earth. In Love your monsters, ed. M. Shellenberger, and T. Nordhaus, 37–46. Oakland, CA: Breakthrough Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hallett, L., R.J. Standish, K.B. Hulvey, M.R. Gardener, K.N. Suding, B.M. Starzomski, S.D. Murphy, and J.A. Harris. 2013. Towards a conceptual framework for novel ecosystems. In Novel ecosystems. Intervening in the new ecological order, eds. R.J. Hobbs et al., 16–28. Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hobbs, R., S. Arico, J. Aronson, J. Baron, P. Bridgewater, et al. 2006. Novel ecosystems: theoretical and management aspects of the new ecological world order. Global Ecology and Biogeography 15(1): 1–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hobbs, R., L. Hallett, P. Ehrlich, and H. Mooney. 2011. Intervention ecology: applying ecological science in the twenty-first century. BioScience 61(6): 442–450.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hobbs, R., E. Higgs, and C. Hall (eds.). 2013. Novel ecosystems. Intervening in the new ecological order. Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunter Jr., M.L., K.H. Redford, and D.B. Lindenmayer. 2014. The complementary niches of anthropocentric and biocentric conservationists. Conservation Biology 28(3): 641–645.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IUCN/SSC. 2013. Guidelines for reintroductions and other conservation translocations. Version 1.0. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN Species Survival Commission.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kareiva, P., M. Marvier, and R. Lalasz. 2012. Conservation in the anthropocene. Beyond solitude and fragility. http://thebreakthrough.org/index.php/journal/past-issues/issue-2/conservation-in-the-anthropocene.

  • Kareiva, P., and M. Marvier. 2007. Conservation for the people. Scientific American 297: 50–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kareiva, P., and M. Marvier. 2012. What is conservation science? BioScience 62(11): 962–969.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keulartz, J. 2016. Future direction for conservation. Environmental Values 25(4): 385–407.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keulartz, J., and C. Van der Weele. 2008. Framing and reframing in invasion biology. Configurations, a Journal of Literature, Science and Technology 16(1): 93–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keulartz, J., and C. Van der Weele. 2009. Between nativism and cosmopolitanism. In New visions of nature: complexity and authenticity, ed. M. Drenthen, J. Keulartz, and J. Proctor, 237–256. Dordrecht: Springer Verlag.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kueffer, C., and C.N. Kaiser-Bunbury. 2014. Reconciling conflicting perspectives for biodiversity conservation in the anthropocene. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 12(2): 131–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lacy, R.C. 2013. Achieving true sustainability of zoo populations. Zoo Biology 32: 19–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Latour, B. 2012. Love your monsters. Why we must care for our technologies as we do our children. The breakthrough Journal, Winter 2012: 21–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lynas, M. 2011a. The god species: how the planet can survive the age of humans. London: HaperCollins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lynas, M. 2011b. Geo-engineering, nuclear power and climate change: playing God is good for the planet. The Telegraph, 12 July 2011.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lynas, M. 2014. Nuclear 2.0: why a green future needs nuclear power. Cambridge, UK: UIT Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marris, E., P. Kaveira, J. Mascaro, and E. Ellis. 2011. Hope in the age of man. The New York Times, December 7, 2011.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, B., M.E. Soulé, and J. Terborgh. 2013. “New conservation” or surrender to development? Animal Conservation 17(6): 509–515.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Minteer, B. 2015. The perils of de-extinction. Minding Nature 8(1): 11–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Minteer, B.A., and J.P. Collins. 2013. Ecological ethics in captivity: balancing values and responsibilities in zoo and aquarium research under rapid global change. ILAR 54(1): 41–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pearce, F. 2007. With speed and violence. Why scientists fear tipping points in climate change. Boston, MA: Bacon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perring, M. and E. Ellis. 2013. The extent of novel ecosystems: long in time and broad in space. In Novel ecosystems. Intervening in the new ecological order, eds. R. Hobbs et al. 66–80. Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Redford, K., D. Jensen, and J. Breheny. 2013. The long overdue death of the ex situ and in situ dichotomy in species conservation. WAZA Magazine 14: 19–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rockström, J., et al. 2009. A safe operating space for humanity. Nature 461(7263): 472–475.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seddon, P.J. 2015. De-extinction: reframing the possible. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 30(10): 569–570.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seddon, P.J., C.J. Griffiths, P.S. Soorae, and D.P. Armstrong. 2014. Reversing defaunation: restoring species in a changing world. Science 345(6195): 406–412.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shellenberger, M., and T. Nordhaus. 2004. The death of environmentalism: global warming politics in a post-environmental world. Oakland, CA: Breakthrough Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shellenberger, M., and T. Nordhaus. 2007. Break through: from the death of environmentalism to the politics of possibility. New York: Houghton Mifflin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sherkow, J.S., and H.T. Greely. 2013. What if extinction is not forever? Science 340(6128): 32–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, F.A., C.E. Doughty, Y. Malhi, J.-C. Svenning, and J. Terborgh. 2015. Megafauna in the Earth system. Ecography 39: 99–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soulé, M.E. 2013. The “new conservation”. Conservation Biology 27(5): 895–897.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steffen, W., P.J. Crutzen, and J.R. McNeill. 2007. The anthropocene: are humans now overwhelming the great forces of nature? Ambio 36(8): 614–621.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steffen, W., et al. 2011a. The anthropocene: conceptual and historical perspectives. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 369: 842–867.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steffen, W., et al. 2011b. The anthropocene: from global change to planetary stewardship. Ambio 40(7): 739–761.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steffen, W., et al. 2015. Planetary boundaries: guiding human development on a changing planet. Science 347(6223): 736–746.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Svenning, J.-C., P.B.M. Pedersen, C.J. Donlan, R. Ejrnæs, S. Faurby, M. Galetti, D.M. Hansen, B. Sandel, C.J. Sandom, J.W. Terborgh, and F.W.M. Vera. 2015. Science for a wilder anthropocene: synthesis and future directions for trophic rewilding research. PNAS 113(4): 898–906.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tallis, H., and J. Lubchenco. 2014. Working together: a call for inclusive conservation. Nature 515: 27–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wapner, P. 2010. Living through the end of nature. The future of American environmentalism. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wuerthner, G., E. Crist, and T. Butler (eds.). 2014. Keeping the wild. Against the domestication of Earth. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zalasiewicz, J., M. Williams, W. Steffen, and P. Crutzen. 2010. The new world of the anthropocene. Environmental Science and Technology 44(7): 2228–2231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Jozef Keulartz

  2. University of Wageningen, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Bernice Bovenkerk

Authors
  1. Jozef Keulartz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Bernice Bovenkerk
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jozef Keulartz .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Wageningen, Wageningen, Gelderland, The Netherlands

    Bernice Bovenkerk

  2. Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Jozef Keulartz

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing AG

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Keulartz, J., Bovenkerk, B. (2016). Changing Relationships with Non-human Animals in the Anthropocene—An Introduction. In: Bovenkerk, B., Keulartz, J. (eds) Animal Ethics in the Age of Humans. The International Library of Environmental, Agricultural and Food Ethics, vol 23. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44206-8_1

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation