Text 1: Geologist Park argues that the Anthropocene — a proposed geological epoch defined by human impact on Earth — is a meaningful scientific category. Plastic deposits, fallout from nuclear tests, and shifts in carbon and nitrogen cycles all leave clear stratigraphic signals that future geologists will read.
Text 2: Geologist Singh accepts the human impacts Park describes but argues that "epoch" is the wrong scale. Geological epochs span millions of years; the Anthropocene's signals are decades old. To elevate them to epoch status, Singh contends, mistakes the significance of the impacts for the timescale of the geological column.
The authors most clearly disagree about
- A
whether plastic exists in the environment.
- B
whether humans have left stratigraphic signals.
- Ccheck_circle
whether human impacts justify a new geological epoch as currently defined.
- D
whether nuclear tests occurred.
Explanation
Both accept the impacts. They differ on the appropriate stratigraphic category. B captures the dispute.