Artifice Versus Nature

In The Anthropocene Reviewed, Green posits that nature and artifice in equal measure make up what humans think of as the world they live in. Whereas nature at might have dominated in the past, humans have for too long dominated the planet over other species and thus have left an outsized mark on the land and societies they inhabit. Humans have also romanticized nature and sought to make their man-made structures and environments resemble it to an extent, resulting in interesting products which blur the line between what is natural and what is artificial.

This idea is first put forward in “Lascaux Cave Paintings,” when Green marvels at society’s desire to protect the artwork in these caves by in fact sealing them off and allowing tourists to visit an exact replica of the caves elsewhere. The art being looked at is no longer authentic, but...