Anthropocene Antarctica: Perspectives from the Humanities, Law and Social Sciences (Routledge Environmental Humanities)

__Anthropocene Antarctica__ offers new ways of thinking about the ‘Continent for Science and Peace’ in a time of planetary environmental change. In the Anthropocene, Antarctica has become central to the Earth’s future. Ice cores taken from its interior reveal the deep environmental history of the planet and warming ocean currents are ominously destabilising the glaciers around its edges, presaging sea-level rise in decades and centuries to come. At the same time, proliferating research stations and tourist numbers challenge stereotypes of the continent as the ‘last wilderness.’ The Anthropocene brings Antarctica nearer in thought, entangled with our everyday actions. If the Anthropocene signals the end of the idea of Nature as separate from humans, then the Antarctic, long considered the material embodiment of this idea, faces a radical reframing. Understanding the southern polar region in the twenty-first century requires contributions across the disciplinary spectrum. This collection paves the way for researchers in the Environmental Humanities, Law and Social Sciences to engage critically with the Antarctic, fostering a community of scholars who can act with natural scientists to address the globally significant environmental issues that face this vitally important part of the planet. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series Page 3 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Table of Contents 6 List of illustrations 8 Acknowledgements 9 List of contributors 10 Foreword 12 1. Anthropocene Antarctica: Approaches, issues and debates 16 Antarctica in the Anthropo-scene 18 Antarctica and the HLSS disciplines 21 * 23 Notes 26 References 27 PART 1: Governance and geopolitics 30 2. Governing Antarctica in the Anthropocene 32 Introduction 32 What is the Anthropocene? 32 What does the Anthropocene mean for the way we see Antarctica? 33 What does the Anthropocene mean for understanding Antarctica as a managed place? 35 What might an Antarctic Treaty System best suited for the Anthropocene look like? 37 Conclusions 43 Acknowledgments 44 Notes 44 References 45 3. Subglacial nationalisms 48 Introduction 48 Antarctic nationalisms 51 Ice core drill sites 53 Ice cores and nationalism in the ‘Australian Antarctic Territory’ 54 Conclusion: reflections on the contemporary Antarctic 63 Notes 64 Acknowledgements 66 References 66 4. Frozen Eden lost? Exploring discourses of geoengineering Antarctica 71 Antarctica, climate change and geoengineering discourse 73 The enhanced reflectivity discourse 77 The enhanced carbon sequestration discourse 80 The glacial stabilisation discourse 82 Geoengineering discourse and Antarctic governance 83 Conclusion 85 Note 85 References 85 5. The Anthropocene melt: Antarctica’s geologic politics 88 Introduction 88 Geologic politics in Antarctica 91 The melting of the cryosphere: ice as the ‘stuff of time’ 92 Conclusions: an ethics of ‘response-ability’ for Antarctica in the Anthropocene 95 References 96 PART 2: Cultural texts and representations 100 6. Ice and the ecothriller: Popular representations of Antarctica in the Anthropocene 102 The rise of the Antarctic (eco)thriller 103 Global plot, local action 106 Ice as nonhuman actor in the ecothriller 108 Deadlines, countdowns and the future of Antarctica 111 Notes 113 References 114 7. Listening ‘at the sea ice edge’: Compositions based on soundscape recordings made in Antarctica 116 Introduction 116 Douglas Quin 118 Philip Samartzis 123 Conclusions 128 Notes 129 References 129 8. Save the penguins: Antarctic advertising and the PR of protection 132 Mobilising multiple framings of Antarctica 133 Frozen imagery and ‘ice-wash’ 135 Saving ice: Antarctica and the rhetoric of protection 136 How to change to a globe: Westpac and the Equator Principles 138 Melting ice: double takes and double meanings 140 Final reflections on a fragile continent 143 Notes 144 References 145 PART 3: Inhabitations and place 148 9. Indigenising the heroic era of Antarctic exploration 150 Traditional knowledge and Antarctic exploration 153 Indigenous technologies 158 Indigenous inhabitants? 163 An absent presence 166 Conclusions 168 Notes 169 References 169 10. Populating Antarctica: Chilean families in the frozen continent 171 Commercial exploitation of Antarctica? 172 The project becomes reality 173 Antarctic families, Antarctic babies 175 Living on the icy continent 178 Unexpected friendships 180 Conclusions 182 Notes 183 References 184 11. Placing the past: The McMurdo Dry Valleys and the problem of geographical specificity in Antarctic history 187 Introduction 187 The politics of place 190 The science and technology of place 192 The management of place 194 Conclusions 197 References 198 PART 4: Conclusion 200 12. Antarctica looking forward 202 Index 205 « "Anthropocene Antarctica offers new ways of thinking about the 'Continent for Science and Peace' in a time of planetary environmental change. In the Anthropocene, Antarctica has become central to the Earth's future. Ice cores taken from its interior reveal the deep environmental history of the planet and warming ocean currents are ominously destabilising the glaciers around its edges, presaging sea-level rise in decades and centuries to come. At the same time, proliferating research stations and tourist numbers challenge stereotypes of the continent as the 'last wilderness.' The Anthropocene brings Antarctica nearer in thought, entangled with our everyday actions. If the Anthropocene signals the end of the idea of Nature as separate from humans, then the Antarctic, long considered the material embodiment of this idea, faces a radical reframing. Understanding the southern polar region in the twenty-first century requires contributions across the disciplinary spectrum. This collection paves the way for researchers in the Environmental Humanities, Law and Social Sciences to engage critically with the Antarctic, fostering a community of scholars who can act with natural scientists to address the globally significant environmental issues that face this vitally important part of the plane. »-- Résumé de l'éditeur "Anthropocene Antarctica offers new ways of thinking about the 'Continent for Science and Peace' in a time of planetary environmental change. In the Anthropocene, Antarctica has become central to the Earth's future. Ice cores taken from its interior reveal the deep environmental history of the planet and warming ocean currents are ominously destabilising the glaciers around its edges, presaging sea-level rise in decades and centuries to come. At the same time, proliferating research stations and tourist numbers challenge stereotypes of the continent as the 'last wilderness.' The Anthropocene brings Antarctica nearer in thought, entangled with our everyday actions. If the Anthropocene signals the end of the idea of Nature as separate from humans, then the Antarctic, long considered the material embodiment of this idea, faces a radical reframing. Understanding the southern polar region in the twenty-first century requires contributions across the disciplinary spectrum. This collection paves the way for researchers in the Environmental Humanities, Law and Social Sciences to engage critically with the Antarctic, fostering a community of scholars who can act with natural scientists to address the globally significant environmental issues that face this vitally important part of the planet"-- Provided by publisher