Great Acceleration
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The Great Acceleration is the post–World War II surge in human population, economic activity, and resource use that has dramatically intensified human impacts on Earth’s environment and climate.
Aliases (1)
Statements (60)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Anthropocene concept
→
historical period → socio-environmental phenomenon → |
| appliesTo |
global scale
→
|
| associatedWith |
consumer society
→
fossil fuel combustion → global North → industrialized countries → |
| hasCause |
fossil fuel–based energy systems
→
globalization of trade → population growth → postwar economic expansion → rapid industrialization → technological innovation → |
| hasEffect |
accelerated climate change
→
alteration of biogeochemical cycles → deforestation → expansion of human ecological footprint → growth of global economy → growth of global transportation networks → growth of industrial agriculture → growth of megacities → increased energy consumption → increased frequency of environmental crises → increased greenhouse gas emissions → increased human impact on the Earth system → increased material consumption → increased nitrogen cycle disruption → increased phosphorus cycle disruption → increased pollution → increased resource extraction → increased water use → land-use change → loss of wilderness areas → ocean acidification → plastic pollution → rapid biodiversity loss → stratospheric ozone depletion (historically) → urbanization → |
| hasPart |
rapid economic growth
→
rapid increase in communication networks → rapid increase in industrial production → rapid increase in resource use → rapid increase in transportation activity → rapid population growth → rapid technological change → |
| hasStartTime |
circa 1945
→
post–World War II era → |
| isCharacterizedBy |
exponential growth curves in Earth system indicators
→
exponential growth curves in socio-economic indicators → |
| isDescribedBy |
Earth system science literature
→
global change research → |
| isPartOf |
Anthropocene
→
|
| mainSubject |
climate system forcing
→
global environmental change → human–environment interactions → |
| temporalLocation |
early 21st century
→
second half of the 20th century → |
| usedAsEvidenceFor |
human dominance of the Earth system
→
onset of the Anthropocene → |
Referenced by (3)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Holocene
→
|
containsEvent |
|
Anthropocene
("Great Acceleration period")
→
|
hasProposedStart |
|
Anthropocene
→
|
relatedConcept |