Hello, humans, from the new Anthropocene epoch! Yes, this is our chance to be remembered on rock layers for all time.

The long, hot summer — the hottest July days ever on Earth — is evidence that humans changed the sweet nature of, well, Nature.

Now do you see the climate crisis, deniers? On the continent across the warming ocean, Paris, Madrid and Rome burned. It’s the word we hear over and over: “unprecedented” (and not only former President Donald Trump’s latest indictment.)

We’ll never forget the summer sky of 2023, and it’s hardly over yet. The raging wildfires in Canada, flash floods in the Northeast and baking heat waves over 100 F from Florida and Texas to Arizona are in sync with extraordinary events shaking the ground.

It’s not every day the Writers Guild of America strikes with the Screen Actors Guild (known as SAG-AFTRA.) The 11,000 writers went on the line first, in May, and actors joined forces in July.

This joint action of 170,000 members is shutting down Hollywood completely. It’s giving studio heads something to think about on their yachts or in Sun Valley, wherever they spend their summer days.

The writers and actors say their pay is now structured differently, with lower compensation from shorter series and streaming, and a loss of residuals, contrasted with traditional network shows with longer seasons.

Artificial intelligence is coming for us all, right? But Hollywood guilds are smart to brace and address AI theft in their demands. Newspapers took 15 years to figure out paywalls and gave away their work for free for too long.

Usually separate, writers and artists are building camaraderie and cohesion on the line, picketing Netflix, Paramount and more than a dozen other studios. Crickets on the bargaining table since the actors thickened the plot.

Bob Iger, the Disney chief, dismissed the strikes as “disruptive.” Yes, that’s why people strike, Bob. The two guilds have not hit the streets together since 1960, when Ronald Reagan led the Actors Guild.

But wait, there’s more. United Parcel Service might strike in August. The company’s contract talks with its unionized workforce of drivers have broken down. Now if that strike happens, that hits Middle America (and Amazon) at home where we live.

We know our UPS drivers. The familiar fleet of neighborhood trucks — some of which don’t have air conditioning — bring little and large bundles we depend on as akin to a constitutional right. The drivers’ tireless work became a lifeline in the pandemic.

Is it too much to think broad swaths of Americans will support workers and guilds, united, in a hot strike summer? ‘Tis the season to protest extremes, given the outrageous fortunes CEOS make and how much investors take, in salaries, stocks and buybacks.

The United Auto Workers union are also due to negotiate a labor contract. Shawn Fain, the new leader, aims to regain some of the ground labor has lost over the years.

Fain signaled his ranks’ readiness to shut down factories with a strike. One concern to be addressed is assembling electric vehicles, echoes of qualms about changing technology in the entertainment industry.

The Los Angeles Unified School District workers won a 30% raise earlier this year (after a three-day strike.)

Under the scorching sun, a roiling change in atmosphere is clear here.

Strands of resolve and courage connect guilds and unions willing to stand up for what’s right. The mood catches on from one line of work to another. The janitors union and Teamsters marched in solidarity with the WGA.

For now, Hollywood is going dark, except for the coming of summer blockbusters, “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie.”

Talk about extremes as a sign of the times. The iconic Barbie doll got girls thinking about clothes, boys, cooking, beauty and — to some extent — glamorous careers. My friends are losing their minds, crazy over her cultural comeback.

Back to the Anthropocene epoch, which has yet to be fully confirmed by scientists. Most geologists agree human fossil fuels, nuclear weapons and industrialization left indelible marks on the blue marble we live on.

A hot planet is the new deal.

In Wisconsin, the ancient glacier that formed rolling landscapes comes up in conversation. This summer, I dream about water — and that glacier.

Jamie Stiehm may be reached at JamieStiehm.com. Follow her on Twitter @JamieStiehm.

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