Some have suggested that our current circumstances, in which humans have significantly impacted and altered their environment, should be called the Anthropocene.?
Proponents argue that unlike prior transitions, the planetary phase marks a new geologic era, the Anthropocene, in which human activity fundamentally alters ecosystems and the climate.
Dating of the beginning of a period called Anthropocene therefore ought to be assigned to the moment when mankind joined with the other environmental forces in shaping the planet.