While mankind leaves its mark on the environment, it is not always for the benefit of the system as a whole. The concept of a man-made geological age is sometimes more - sometimes less - at the center of scientific debate. Langthaler, head of the Institute for Economic, Social and Environmental History, believes this tends to fall short of the mark. In a commentary for the Austrian newspaper, Der Standard, he argues in favor of an alternative concept that identifies and describes the inequalities in responsibility. In the end, the primary driver of change is a growing society, and it has been this way for some 200 years.

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