The Earth is 4.5 billion years old. Modern humans have existed for 200,000 years, yet in that time we have fundamentally altered the systems of the planet on which we depend.

Find out more about the age of humans, and why we should care about it https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🌍" title="Earth globe europe-africa" aria-label="Emoji: Earth globe europe-africa"> https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/what-is-the-anthropocene.html?utm_source=tw-link-post-20191127-kp&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=general">https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/...

Human actions affect animals and plants all over the world, including in the UK.

Over the past 50 years, urbanisation, agriculture, pollution and climate change have all caused the nation& #39;s plants and animals to dwindle. https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2019/october/the-state-of-nature-41-percent-of-the-uks-species-have-declined.html?utm_source=tw-link-post-20191127-kp&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=general">https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/...

There are things we can do to stop that decline. Scientists have recommended that we:

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⭐" title="Medium star" aria-label="Emoji: Medium star">stop mining fossil fuels
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⭐" title="Medium star" aria-label="Emoji: Medium star">reduce emissions
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⭐" title="Medium star" aria-label="Emoji: Medium star">protect at-risk ecosystems
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⭐" title="Medium star" aria-label="Emoji: Medium star">eat less meat
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⭐" title="Medium star" aria-label="Emoji: Medium star">reduce inequality
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⭐" title="Medium star" aria-label="Emoji: Medium star">stabilise the world’s population https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2019/november/scientists-warn-of-a-clear-and-unequivocal-climate-emergency.html?utm_source=tw-link-post-20191127-kp&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=general">https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/...

Museum scientists are working to understand our impact and improve the outlook.

Our collection of 80 million specimens is a library of life on Earth. That means we can study how Earth has changed before, and predict how it might change again. https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/oceans-under-the-microscope.html?utm_source=tw-link-post-20191127-kp&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=general">https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/...