Vernadsky and Biospheral Ecology

The concept of The Biosphere as the integrated living and life-supporting system comprising the peripheral envelope of planet Earth together with its surrounding atmosphere so far down, and up, as any form of life exists naturally, stems from the writings of V.I. Vernadsky in the 1920s but has only emerged and become widely accepted in the latest decades. Yet it is quite one of the largest and most important entities with which humans have to deal, being, moreover, the only natural habitat and life-support of Mankind and Nature and, as such, needful of safeguarding and healthful maintenance. No other meaning than the above should be attached to the term Biosphere, the importance of which concept and actuality being such that it should be far more widely known than is currently the case — to which end a small conference was held in 1987 and a larger one is contemplated in 1990 on the theme of Threats to The Biosphere and Imperative Countermeasures. Other activities on behalf of The Biosphere include the ‘Johnny Biosphere' media campaign of Dr John R. Vallentyne, those of The World Campaign for The Biosphere and its sponsoring World Council For The Biosphere, and the newly-established [International] Vernadsky Foundation which it is hoped will have, as one of its main objectives, the fostering of due reverence for life in its full Biospheral contex

Vladimir Vernadsky and the Co-evolution of the Biosphere, the Noosphere, and the Technosphere

How did the current notion of “spheres” as an operational interface between living and inert matter come into being, and how did it go on to infiltrate thinking about the bio-techno-sphere, which today seems the best descriptive model for our own habitat? In this profound historical contextualization of the work and life of the eminent Russian naturalist Vladimir Vernadsky, historians of science Giulia Rispoli and Jacques Grinevald draw on the transformational role of concepts

La révolution industrielle à l’échelle de l’histoire humaine de la biosphère

Quelques souvenirs Avant d’entrer dans le vif de notre sujet – à vrai dire simplement quelques réflexions sur le statut épistémologique du concept de Révolution industrielle à l’échelle du monde, de « la face de la Terre », la Terre avec un grand T, notre planète dans le système solaire, « la Biosphère dans le cosmos », à l’ère biogéologique actuelle de la Noosphère ou de l’Anthropocène, autrement dit dans « l’histoire humaine de la nature » – je souhaite rappeler, dans ce volume dédié à notr..

Origines, thèmes et enjeux de la CNUED

Les antécédents de la Conférence de Rio sur l’environnement et le développement (CNUED) Pour appréhender correctement les thèmes et les enjeux de la grande conférence de Rio de Janeiro sur l’environnement et le développement, il est nécessaire de bien situer cet événement dans son contexte historique. Si, pour l’opinion publique, c’est la conférence de Stockholm sur « l’environnement humain », du 5 au 16 juin 1972, qui marque le début de la prise de conscience de la problématique mondiale de ..

Origines, thèmes et enjeux de la CNUED

Les antécédents de la Conférence de Rio sur l’environnement et le développement (CNUED) Pour appréhender correctement les thèmes et les enjeux de la grande conférence de Rio de Janeiro sur l’environnement et le développement, il est nécessaire de bien situer cet événement dans son contexte historique. Si, pour l’opinion publique, c’est la conférence de Stockholm sur « l’environnement humain », du 5 au 16 juin 1972, qui marque le début de la prise de conscience de la problématique mondiale de ..

Can nuclear weapons fallout mark the beginning of the Anthropocene Epoch?

Many scientists are making the case that humanity is living in a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene, but there is no agreement yet as to when this epoch began. The start might be defined by a historical event, such as the beginning of the fossil-fueled Industrial Revolution or the first nuclear explosion in 1945. Standard stratigraphic practice, however, requires a more significant, globally widespread, and abrupt signature, and the fallout from nuclear weapons testing appears most suitable. The appearance of plutonium 239 (used in post- 1945 above-ground nuclear weapons tests) makes a good marker: This isotope is rare in nature but a significant component of fallout. It has other features to recommend it as a stable marker in layers of sedimentary rock and soil, including: long half-life, low solubility, and high particle reactivity. It may be used in conjunction with other radioactive isotopes, such as americium 241 and carbon 14, to categorize distinct fallout signatures in sediments and ice caps. On a global scale, the first appearance of plutonium 239 in sedimentary sequences corresponds to the early 1950s. While plutonium is easily detectable over the entire Earth using modern measurement techniques, a site to define the Anthropocene (known as a Ògolden spikeÓ) would ideally be located between 30 and 60 degrees north of the equator, where fallout is maximal, within undisturbed marine or lake environments