Brock University Professors of Earth Sciences Francine McCarthy and Martin Head are among the international experts included in a new French documentary discussing the impacts of human activity on the planet.
Directed by Cédric Defert, Anthropocene: The Undeniable Truth explores how industrialization and its byproducts are transforming the environment to such an extent that scientists are calling for a new epoch, the Anthropocene, to be added to the geologic timescale.
The work of Brock University Professors of Earth Sciences Francine McCarthy and Martin Head has been featured in a recent French documentary titled Anthropocene: The Undeniable Truth.
The documentary highlights internationally renowned research done by McCarty, Head and their team at Crawford Lake in Milton, Ont., which uncovered physical evidence of lead, fly ash and other pollutants recording the "Great Acceleration" trapped in the sediment layers of the lakebed.
The Great Acceleration is a mid-20th century phenomenon associated with global industrialization, commercialization and a significant increase in energy use.
Head says the research findings at Crawford Lake and 11 other sites around the world show clear evidence in support of a new Anthropocene Epoch.
"Once the meaning of the term Anthropocene is standardized, it will bring scholars of all disciplines closer together in understanding how the enormous upheavals of the mid-20th century have led to our planet's current state," he says.
McCarthy is passionate about sharing research results with the public through her participation in documentaries, media interviews and presentations.
"I often say doing the science associated with defining the Anthropocene was the easiest part. Convincing people how important it is to act on the information is the challenging part," she says. "This is possibly the most important thing I can do in my career, in my life."
