You will now be taking a closer look at plastics as a technofossil using the gigapixel image. The gigapixel image represents a small fraction of the total technosphere, as the volume of plastics pictured is miniscule compared with all the plastic that has ever been produced by humans since its invention. Among the technosphere’s most distinctive aspects is its significant “waste layer.” While the biosphere and hydrosphere can endlessly recycle all their materials, the cyclical character of the technosphere is compromised by the fact that humans cannot reuse all that we produce. The remainder we call “waste.”
Activity: Gigapixel Image TECHNOFOSSILS
http://gigapixel-theanthropocene.org/Recycle/Links to an external site.
A gigapixel image is a mosaic of extremely high-resolution digital photographs, which
combined, contain one billion pixels of information.
Throughout the course we will explore interactive gigapixels created by world-renowned
photographer Edward Burtynsky that showcase the application of detailed digital
photography to the understanding of the changes created by humankind to the geology
and ecology of the planet.
We will interact with the images by finding the embedded
triggers that, when selected, play short film extensions.
Click and drag your mouse to navigate around the image zoom in and zoom out to explore the detail. Locate the seven visual triggers and click on each to activate a new experience watch a video listen to audio or explore the 360 degree environment.
Walk around the gigapixel image, taking in the volume and variety of products shown. Consider what you see and decide on another potential golden spike marker for the Anthropocene. Examples could include items you see directly (e.g., plastic, paper) or maybe it is an associated spike marker (e.g., extinction of animals because of plastic pollution, climate change or all of our “stuff” that can’t be recycled- think natural capitol again, the products we make and how those graphs of human activity correlated with the earth system).
Assignment: Respond and write a Reflection on the Technofossil Gigapixel activity.
What was your first, gut reaction to the image?
Describe 3 of the 7 triggers that you experienced and your reaction to them.
Did you find anything in the image that you have used and thrown away?
Did you find anything in the image that surprised you that others threw away?
Part of the reason behind the increasing growth of the technosphere is the frequent habit of discarding items after they no longer interest us. What can we do about that? What did you see in the image that could have been recycled or repurposed?
After learning about the timescale and golden spikes activity, this gigapixel activity and the beach in Spain of cement “technofossils” – human created markers in the sediment… these products of human technology… I will ask again, do you think that our species has become a geophysical force?
We will explore our own personal footprints and impacts on the earth soon but now please consider…what impacts do you have in your every day life? How are you contributing to the technosphere?