Time For a New Era
I Heart Leuser, an Image created for Rainforest Action Network’s Leuser Ecosystem initiative by Asher Jay.
The Anthropocene (Age of Man) is the geological period defined by industrialization, extractive processes and linear definitions of progress and product lifespans. In 2016, the Anthropocene Working Group (AWG) located potential stratigraphic markers that distinguish the Anthropocene from the Holocene (began 11,650 Cal years before) as having commenced in the year 1950, during the Great Acceleration (described as a significant increase in human activity which began to affect the planet in undeniable ways.)
The Great Acceleration qualifies the paradigm of production, distribution and consumption we imply when we say, “business as usual.” It bears the signature imprint of man’s dominion over life, from wasteful processes, avaricious progress, exclusivity fueled elitism and patriarchal overreach, to the irreverent neglect of the natural world and the prioritization of the individual to the detriment of the collective. The Anthropocene suffers from a crippling lack of stakeholdership, stewardship, accountability and transparency. It irreverently depletes the global commons, and disenfranchises vast sections of society based on their purchasing power. What are the global commons? It is the natural world, owned by no one, exploited by everyone, and left in a constant state of disconnection and deficit.
The abundance of resources the earth provides in the form of ecosystem services and living biodiversity was once in a state of harmonious homeostasis. The biosphere was regenerative, distributive and cyclical. The human race punctured this fabric of interdependence and seeded the industrial age of independence, where we stepped apart from life instead of recognizing we were a part of it. This disassociative choice to intellectually prize our species as separate from the very biological and evolutionary narrative that gave rise to us and the consequent denunciation of all planetary feedback on our performance, put us at odds with coexistence driven revisions. Our continued dismissal of the checks and balances that would have kept our self-destructive behaviors in tow, triggered all the planetary tipping points and humanitarian crises we are currently having to respond to. The continual denudation of marine and terrestrial habitats, the accelerated pace of climate change, and the inequities prevalent in human society have intersected to result in a short sighted paradigm rife in the suffering of many, to the benefit of a selfish few.
Continuing to color within the parameters of this destructive geological period is not how humanity is going to coin a viable solution, because as Albert Einstein once stated, “We can not solve our problems with the same consciousness that created them.” This is why I coined the term for a new era — Henoscene — an age defined by unity, one that my team, our brand partners and investors would like to co-create and work toward.
Henoscene is a chimera of two classical Greek words, ‘Henosis,’ denoting consensus on a fundamental unified reality + ‘Kainos’ (cene) meaning new, often used to denote geological periods. ‘Henos’ also means fodder. Fodder was born of agricultural settlements being realized and thus indicate the earliest assertion of proprietorship over the planet. Henos + Cene = an age of cultivation, where our imprint is pervasive. ‘Heno’ implies “strong” in slang, and ‘scene’ sets the stage for the unfolding of such strength. Lastly, ‘He No Scene,’ denotes we are personally over the patriarchy and are ready to embrace a matriarchal society, like other enlightened species, such as elephants, hyenas and bonobos. I maintain women, other marginalized genders and races should assume a central role in decision making and strategy execution in the Henoscene, because the surest form of insanity is to keep the same gender (male) and race (caucasian) in positions of unquestioned authority, doing things as they have been, while expecting different results. There is a 12 Trillion market opportunity in shifting gears and empowering more women with capital access to launch businesses that tangibly give back to both people and planet.
We wish to pave the way to an inclusive economic epoch, powered by decentralization devoid of guns and butter trade offs, where it is no longer about the parts accounting for the whole, but interdependent wholes participating in and preserving their integrity in toto. After the Anthropocene (Age of Man) where our imprint is registered in remains and ruins, comes the Henoscene, an era defined by the union with what is a fundamental reality- an inclusive, unified whole. An era where capitalism and the planet are not at odds with each other, but in a symbiosis.
Rather than focus on the things that are failing us, we wish to focus on that which fosters us, and is worth preserving for future generations. A green age to follow the black one the industrial revolution put in play, where we finally target source level disruption instead of continuing to skim the surface with symptom alleviation.
