The Earth-System Humanization Event (ESHE)

Currently, an intense debate exists over whether the Anthropocene should be considered a formal series/epoch on the International Chronostratigraphic Chart/Geological Time Scale (ICC/GTS) or a geological event.Recent developments have cast doubt on the former option, with the rejection of a proposal submitted to the Subcommission of Quaternary Stratigraphy (SQS) of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) (Voosen, 2024;Witze, 2024).This rejection has strengthened the notion of the Anthropocene as a geological event, as proposed in recent years (Gibbard et al., 2022a, b).However, the term Anthropocene, originally coined to define an epoch (Crutzen & Stoermer, 2000), may be deemed unsuitable for naming an event.This commentary briefly reviews the most recent developments regarding the SQS rejection and suggests a more appropriate name for an alternative event.