Visions of the One Planet: The Planetary Age in International and Environmental History

In 1988, Representative John Conyers Jr., a Democrat from Michigan in the US Congress was adamant that "we are all on the same planet," as he expressed his frustration about the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) lack of regulatory power to interfere with the export of hazardous waste. 1 Conyers' appeal to "the same planet" evoked a global economy (of toxic waste trade) vis- a-vis a planetary environment (of toxic exposure) that all of humanity shared.His remark revealed an Earth-encompassing consciousness, which came with a moral imperative for international political action to deal with a global problem.In contrast, EPA spokesperson Sheldon Meyers, who represented the US state, was charged with protecting the environment within the sovereign nation's territorial limits.Even though Meyers acknowledged the planetary scale of the issue, his agency was incapable of acting on the worldwide level, as Conyers demanded.Their exchange about dealing with an issue of the planetary ecosystem was a typical conflict during what we call in this forum "the planetary age."It started in the 1950s when UN scientists began fabricating a model of an integrated planetary system and ranges until today's discussions about the Anthropocene.During this age, a wide cast of actors developed divergent visions of what constituted the right way for humanity to live together on one Earth.00 1.International Export of U.S.