(The) Great Acceleration

Definition: The Great Acceleration refers to an ongoing phenomenon with an indeterminate starting point (the Industrial Revolution is sometimes considered), but which has been taking place particularly since the middle of the 20th century, a period effectively characterized by a sharp rise in numerous indicators reflecting human activity (population size, GDP, resource and energy consumption, plastic production, greenhouse gas emissions, etc.) and its consequences on the biosphere (greenhouse gas concentration in the atmosphere, surface temperature, species extinction rate, etc.). The Great Acceleration can thus be considered as a particular phase of the Anthropocene, during which the influence of human activity on the Earth's surface increases considerably. The various indicators characteristic of the Great Acceleration form the planetary dashboard of the Anthropocene, published in a book in 2004 and updated in a scientific article in 2015.

The definition of the Great Acceleration in pictures: Since the middle of the twentieth century, many indicators of human activity and its impact on the biosphere have changed dramatically. For some of them (population, GDP or CO2 concentration), strong variations may have occurred before, but these are out of all proportion to the suddenness and amplitude of recent developments. Other indicators describe phenomena that simply did not exist before 1950, but which have since experienced spectacular growth (plastics production, for example). The Great Acceleration is thus a characteristic phase of the Anthropocene, marked by a sudden and very sharp increase in human activity and its impact on the Earth's surface. Data source: Our World In Data for population, GDP, annual plastic production and atmospheric CO2 concentration.

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