The Cold War and the Anthropocene: 1945-25,945 A.D. John McNeill Georgetown University Public Lecture Tuesday 26 October 2010 5-6.30 pm Venue: Hedley Bull Lecture Theatre 1, ANU We live in an era of unprecedented human impact on earth systems and the biosphere, sometimes called the Anthropocene. This lecture explores the ways in which international political conflict, specifically the pressures of the Cold War, lay behind the environmental tumult of the Anthropocene.  It considers the consequences of nuclear weapons programs in the USA and USSR, of transportation infrastructure programs mainly in the USA, China, and USSR, and of campaigns to boost agricultural production such as the Green Revolution in South and Southeast Asia and the Virgin Lands scheme in the USSR. Listen to the lecture (MP3 31MB) View the presentation slides.