Editor,

Members of this culture are so narcissistic that they’re now calling this era the Anthropocene: the Age of Man. The term was devised by someone who meant it pejoratively, that humans have become so destructive of the planet that they could be considered a geologic force.

I find the term really harmful, for a number of reasons, primarily that the term Anthropocene not only doesn’t help stop this culture from killing the planet, it contributes directly to the problem it purports to address.

It’s also grossly misleading. Humans aren’t the ones killing the planet. Civilized humans are. There’s a difference. It’s the difference between old growth forest and New York City; the difference between flocks of passenger pigeons so large they darkened the sky for days at a time, and skies full of airplanes; and the difference between 60 million bison and pesticide- and herbicide-laden fields of genetically modified corn. It’s the difference between rivers full of salmon and rivers killed by hydroelectric dams. It’s the difference between cultures whose members recognize themselves as one among many, and members of this culture who convert everything to their own use.

Using the term Anthropocene feeds into that narcissism. Gilgamesh destroyed a forest and made a name for himself; this culture destroys a planet and names a geologic age after itself. What a surprise.

We’ve had 6,000 years to recognize this pattern of genocide and ecocide committed by members of this culture because of this culture’s narcissism, sociopathy and entitlement, and the behavior is simply getting worse. And members of this culture have had 6,000 years to recognize that the cultures they’re conquering have often been sustainable. And still they come up with this name that attempts to include all humanity in their own despicable behavior. What a surprise.

MATT LINDER

Langley