早在1873年之前，人类就意识到自身对环境的影响。 意大利地质学家安东尼奥·斯托帕尼将它称为“人类世时代 ” ， 他的定义是“一个全新的地球力量，世界将被这种更伟大的能量主宰。
Mankind’s growing influence on the environment was recognized as long ago as 1873, when the Italian geologist Antonio Stoppani referred to the “anthropozoic era,” defined by a “new telluric force, which in power and universality may be compared to the greater forces of earth.”