How Long Have We Been in the Anthropocene Era? (2003)

With great interest we have read Ruddiman’s intriguing article which is in favour of placing the start of the Anthropocene at 5–8 millennia BP instead of the late quarter of the 18th century. He shows how land exploitation for agriculture and animal husbandry may have led to enhanced emissions of CO2 and CH4 to the atmosphere, thereby modifying the expected changes in the concentrations of these gases beyond those expected from variations in the Milankovich orbital parameters.