Anthropocene-Age of Man

I was listening to BBC while driving. A conversation on Science talk show drew my attention. The scientists  at the University of Leicester, England are about to christen a new geological period when humans first unwittingly and then carelessly began leaving carbon footprint that has adversely and irreversibly affected the earth environment. They are debating when exactly this period began and are expecting to have an answers by next year.

I do not expect it to go down in history without a fight from 'nay sayers'.

Also, human in his arrogance might consider this a lofty honor.  I wonder if it is at all that. 

I knew the common definitions of a Period, an Era, Eon and Epoch. But I Googled them to find out their relevance in  Geological terms.  Below is the definition I found:

'The period is the basic unit of geological time in which a single type of rock system is formed. Two or more periods comprise a geological Era. Two or more Eras form an Eon, the largest division of geologic time. Some periods are divided into epochs.'

There are 14 periods, 3 Eras and 4 Eons. A fifteenth period, which will be named Anthropocene-Age of Man, will be added to the list, probably next year. Ironically carbon footprint of this category can only be preserved in ice, which  as a result of the climate change will melt and will not be available at our beck and call. The suggested remedy is to store the carved ice tubes in refrigerated vaults for future studies and analysis.

1. http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-31836233
   
   http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/glossary/Period.shtml