The next SPA Reviews event is Wednesday 28 September at 7.30 pm in the Seminar Room, ground floor, Conservation Council of SA, 111 Franklin St, Adelaide.
The topic is the emergence of the Anthropocene as a concept and new geological period, marked by the dominance of humans. Our speaker, John Tons, has provided the following background:

The Anthropocene is the product of the comparatively new branch of Earth System Science. Earth system science seeks to understand the planetary life support system as an integrated whole. When you treat the  the earth as a system you very quickly become aware that we are living at a time where the actions of human beings have become the dominant Earth shaping force. We may sum up the challenge of the Anthropocene as the awareness that 'we are not just billions of individuals and millions of collectivities but a single species alongside other species one whose survival is threatened by its own behaviour'. The newness of this particular field can be gauged by the fact that in 2013 there were no journals dealing exclusively with the Anthropocene - today there are four.  
This talk will focus on the main ideas in the various peer-reviewed articles.  In particular I will be drawing attention to the fact that we need to care about using the term - it can be used as a justification for a business-as-usual approach to sustainability.

Please pass this notice around, encourage others to come and bring a friend! Tea, coffee, cheese and biscuits provided.
If you're within commuting distance, hope to see you there!

Peter Martin, President, SPA-SA/NT