Name: Brennley Blalock Elizabeth Kolbert’s “The Sixth Extinction” Reading Assignment Questions Instructions: Answer the following questions regarding your reading. Be as brief as possible but as detailed as needed to show me your understanding of the book and the question. Type your answers below each question and leave with me after final exam. Late submissions will be penalized 25% per day. 1. Why do you think the authors’ subtitle of the book- The Sixth Extinction- An Unnatural History - is appropriate or inappropriate? Would there be a better title or subtitle of the book? I think the title “The Sixth Extinction” is appropriate because 5 mass extinctions (the Big Five) have already occurred, and we are on the brink of a 6th one. I also believe the subtitle “An Unnatural History” is fitting due to the not-so natural ways that animals become extinct. Whether it be because of BP fungus, asteroids, carbon dioxide-emitting sea vents, deforestation, and other various human activity. The only other title suggestion I have would be “The Anthropocene Extinction.” 2. …show more content…
How does the book cover relate to the book? Please explain in detail. The eBook that I read had a vibrant yellow/orange cover. I think this color alone traces back to the Golden Frogs around El Valle that started to disappear. There is also an imagine of what looks like Mammoth bones. This relates to Cuvier’s discussion in the book of the extinction of Mammoths (or Mastodons). Many thought the animal remains were from two or three different animals. He argued, however, that the remains are from an entirely new species that is now
In chapter 11 of The Sixth Extinction, Elizabeth Kolbert finds herself at the Cincinnati Zoo where she is told by Dr. Terri Roth that the Sumatran rhinos are going extinct. This also explains Dr. Roth’s numerous attempts to inseminate Suci, a Sumatran rhinoceros, artificially, but ultimately fails. Kolbert proceeds to talk about the history of the Sumatran rhinoceros, which were very common in the Himalayas, Borneo, and Sumatra. Apparently, a small number of rhinos were sent to American zoos in hopes of reproducing in captivity. Unfortunately, the animals’ diet consisted dry hay, when—contrary to popular belief--green leaves are a staple in the rhinos’ nutrition.
Answer all the questions (except the ones in grey) in full sentences in your workbook after you have read the chapter. Please note that the page numbers given are for a different edition of the novel.
The Sixth Extinction is a chapter found in a book titled, “The Sixth Extinction An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert”. This chapter addresses extinction or the termination of a group. The story takes place in The Panamanian town of El Valle de Anton. The story focuses on the toxic species called the golden frog. For some unknown reason(s), the golden frogs began to disappear.
Chapter 12 of the book The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert is all about the differences between Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalenis) and modern humans (Homo sapiens). Most of the differences were explained clearly and concisely, but one was very contradictory. Could Neanderthals see beauty? I believe that yes, they could, just perhaps not in the exact same way that modern humans do. They could see the beauty of nature, the beauty of living things, like animals flowers, trees, and each other.
Being informed about what is going on around the world, for example how the sixth mass extinction has and is occurring, is exactly what Elizabeth Kolbert teaches in the book The Sixth Extinction. I can honestly say that I did not know that there were all these mechanisms of extinction going on. The mechanisms that Kolbert addresses in this book are invasive species, catastrophe, human overexploitation of resources, ocean acidification, and habitat fragmentation.
In a summary, Kolbert explains the extinctions of a variety of different major animal species that became extinct. She also explains that if trends in the environment continue that the biggest extinction in history will occur soon. If global warming, deforestation, and glaciers continue to melt she says that more and more species will continue to become extinct. She explains how humans need to be more conservative and careful with what they’re doing to prevent extinction.
Directions: To give you a comprehensive understanding of all aspects of the novel, answer the following questions for Part Three in complete sentences and use a different colored font.
List examples of human activities that are suggested to be key triggers for the sixth mass extinction.
There have been 5 mass extinctions in Earth’s existence. The names of these are (from most recent to least recent): Cretaceous–Paleogene, Triassic–Jurassic, Permian–Triassic, Late Devonian, and Ordovician–Silurian. The most well known mass extinction, Cretaceous-Paleogene, was theorized to have occurred through a massive comet or asteroid impact. A cold winter created by the impacting object forbid any plants and plankton to carry out photosynthesis. During this time, about three quarters of all life went extinct. This happened approximately 66 million years ago. Most life forms went extinct, with some ectothermic species and tetrapods weighing less than 25 pounds. Although everything seemed to look hopeless, adaptive radiation caused evolution
I have luckily listened to the lecture presented by Elizabeth Kolbert, the author of The Sixth Extinction and the winner of two national magazine awards. She basically introduced several different extinct or endangered species firstly, including animals such as ʻalalā, a kind of crow that lives in Hawaii, and plants such as American Chestnut, which dominated forest in US 100 years ago. Then emphatically, Mrs. Kolbert talked about the biosystem appearing in New Zealand. By recommending plenty of species and problems happened in the system, Mrs. Kolbert drew forth the concentral idea of killing mammals to protect birds New Zealand did to balance the environmental circumstance. I have noticed this point as quite attractive for me. Finally, the
The sixth mass extinction is on the way and could be as massive as the extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs (Kolbert, 2014). Before learning more about the sixth mass extinction, you’ll have to first understand what biodiversity is and what will happen when you tamper with it. According to Anup Shah, author of Why is Biodiversity Important? Who Cares, biodiversity means the variety of life on Earth or in an ecosystem. Every species plays an important role in the ecosystem or in the world, no matter how big or small. A way to incorporate this into easier terms is the food chain or food web. Without a certain species in the cycle, you’ll be losing another species and so forth (Shah, 2014).
This article captured my attention because extinction is a major problem that occurs around the world with the increase in carelessness of people. great apes are beloved animals that are integral to nature, and the extinction of the great apes can be devastating to the balance of nature. Great apes are animals that are not often thought to be extinct because they are such as well known species of animal, so the fact that four out of six great apes are nearing extinction is a big problem. This article also captured my attention because the title makes a very broad and serious claim. Saying that “four out of six great apes are one step towards extinction” is very serious and makes it seem like the majority of the great ape population will be
Since before the industrial evolutions humans have been pumping green house gasses—carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons— into the atmosphere however, it wasn’t until recently that the amounts being produced are shoving the Earth into a sixth extinction. While the causes of this upcoming extinction are constantly debated on it has earned itself the name Holocene extinction. This name is derived from the theory that humans are the main contributors to this extinction. To investigate the cause Elizabeth Kolbert, and American journalist and professor at Williams College, took the world on a wild and saddening journey on the human contribution to this looming extinction in her novel, The Sixth Extinction; An Unnatural History. Not only does Kolbert’s book explain how humans have contributed to global warming and its effects on life on land but also ocean acidification and how life under the sea has changed over the years.
Experts have put together various theories about previous mass extinctions and their findings have led some to believe that we are in the early stages of the sixth. One finding that has worried scientists throughout the world is the rate at which species of plants and animals have been going extinct. Previous research had discovered that the number of species of birds around the world has been on a steady decline for some time.6[6] While this detection did raise some red flags, it was not evidence that the next mass extinction had been launched.
Dinosaurs were once the earth’s kings and megalodons the sea’s rulers, yet both of these seemingly unstoppable species fell to an even greater power: extinction. Now humans reside at the top, but as another extinction threatens earth’s ecosystem, humans and billions of other plants and animals may perish similarly to the many species before them. Alexander Pyron explores the degree to which humans should preserve biodiversity and endangered species in his article “We don’t need to save endangered species. Extinction is part of evolution.” Pyron writes to convince conservationists that their fear of a mass extinction of biodiversity is unwarranted. Through stipulating key definitions, example-based evidence, and an appeal to the value of biodiversity, Alexander Pyron persuades his audience that humans should have a greater emphasis on saving themselves rather than endangered species.