In March 2024, the Anthropocene Working Group’s proposal for a formal Anthropocene Series/Epoch of the Geologic Time Scale was formally rejected by the Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy. What does the failed formalization effort reveal about the relationship between science and normativity under conditions of ‘climate crisis’? Drawing on four years of ethnographic observation of the Anthropocene Working Group, this article explains how the Group developed its proposal, why it failed, and what it reveals about the social construction of geological truth. The effort to formalize an Anthropocene unit was based on a coupling of science and politics, wherein geo-scientists could make normative assertions in the register of scientific fact. Ultimately, the Group failed because it was seen as appropriating incumbent geological techniques to advance claims about the future, transitioning geology from a descriptive science about the past to a site of warning.

中文翻译：

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人类世的焦虑：真实的地质学和地层学的真诚


2024 年 3 月，人类世工作组关于地质时间尺度的正式人类世系列/纪元的提议被第四纪地层学小组委员会正式拒绝。在“气候危机”的条件下，科学与规范性之间的关系，失败的正规化努力揭示了什么？借鉴人类世工作组四年的民族志观察，本文解释了该小组如何制定其提案、失败的原因以及它揭示了地质真理的社会建构。将人类世单位正规化的努力是基于科学与政治的耦合，其中地球科学家可以在科学事实登记册中做出规范性断言。最终，该小组失败了，因为它被视为挪用了现有的地质技术来推进对未来的主张，将地质学从一门关于过去的描述性科学转变为一个警告场所。