Mass Extinction And Its Effects On The World Essay

We are slowly killing our planet and our co-habitants at such a high rate that some say we are responsible for the sixth mass extinction. In the book The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History author Elizabeth Kolbert an American journalist and professor at Williams College travels to different parts of the world to search for evidence that the sixth extinction is in fact happening now. In The Sixth Extinction Kolbert demonstrates the many ways in which humans are speeding up the loss of so many species. The question is, is it possible to stop or even slow down the loss of other species due to human actions? When we think about extinction we tend to think of cataclysmic events such as the meteor that struck Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula 65 million years ago.

In The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, Elizabeth Kolbert discusses past mass-extinction events and argues that we are currently in the midst of another—this time caused by anthropogenic activity. Each chapter focuses on a different species and analyzes how they serve as evidence of this extinction. Kolbert explores both extinct and living species in an effort to show how the past provides an indication of what may occur in the future if humans continue to conduct “business as usual”. In doing this she also describes how science changes over time: as we discover new scientific evidence, old ideas become obsolete. Kolbert ends the book by saying that while humans are responsible for the destruction of biodiversity, they also have the ability to facilitate positive change.

The scientific community applauds Elizabeth Kolbert for her recently published The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, as it exceeds scientific and literary standards. Elizabeth Kolbert, born in 1961, is a American journalist and author and has won more than ten awards since 2005. In fact, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History recently won her the Pulitzer prize for general nonfiction writing. For a scientific overview of her book, it discusses quite exactly what the title states. There have been five mass extinctions throughout the history of this earth, and the sixth is currently happening and being driven by humans. Kolbert discusses several different species that have become extinct or are on the brink of extinction. She includes history of mankind discovering the concept of extinction as they gradually began to wrap their brains around the idea in the early eighteen hundreds. Lastly, Kolbert masterfully describes her own experiences face to face. She

A marshland is a wetland that is dominated by herbs rather than wooden plants. It can be found at lakes and river streams. They usually covered by reed and grass which distinguish them from other types of wetland like swamps, bogs and fens. It has diverse species of plants, animals and insects that adapt to live in such flooded conditions.

By following the understanding of extinctions up to the present day, Kolbert addresses that extinctions are not strictly catastrophic or uniformitarian. Rather, by citing the major and minor extinctions such as the disappearance of the great auk the End-Cretaceous extinction Kolbert proves that extinctions have a wide variety of causes. Finally, with the grim depiction past and present day extinctions, Kolbert moves on to discuss the title topic: The Sixth Extinction. The term Anthropocene refers to the height of human alteration of the planet earth, which is thought to have begun during the Industrial Revolution. As humans dramatically alter the earth and its ecosystems, it is predicted that humans will eventually cause the sixth extinction if the current environmental trends continue. A combination of accelerated climate change, overhunting, deforestation, and natural ecosystem patterns have begun wiping out entire species at alarming rates. Truly, Kolbert emphasizes that all of humanity’s understanding of extinction is pointing to a devastating mass-extinction which could eventually affect the same beings which catalyzed

When examining the 1980s film Puberty Blues, using techniques of content analysis and personal reflection, I have observed certain differences and similarities between the culture depicted in the film and my own society and culture. The subject of the film is the journey that two young people go on as they transition from adolescence into adulthood, I will be outlining what exactly that means.

List examples of human activities that are suggested to be key triggers for the sixth mass extinction.

The number of wild animals on Earth has halved in the past 40 years . Creatures across the land, rivers, and the seas are destroyed as humans killed them for food in unsuitable numbers, while polluting or destroying their habitats.

Hunting was originally a resourceful activity and a necessity for survival. It was crucial to use the animal for food, clothes, and tools. With the exception of cultures who still depend on this method, there are many developed areas where this is not longer required. From the lack of needing to hunt animals for resources, sport hunting has emerged. This is the recreational act of killing animals to use as trophies. The problem with sport hunting is that it is an unnecessary and unreasonable activity that presents several dangers. In order to understand why, one must examine the effects it has on animals, humans, and the ecosystem. It is clear that sport hunting should have stricter regulations.

Can you imagine being left to suffer for countless hours after being wounded by an unknown person? As you lie on the cold ground, feeling your life slowly fade away, wondering what you did to deserve this. And then to end it all, a gunshot to the head. Unfortunately, this is how many animals suffer due to big game, trophy hunting. I am an avid proponent that big game hunting is a merciless tactic that needs to be eradicated from society, because it’s evident it burdens the animal to endure suffering, and by slaying these exotic creatures, it increases the population’s prospect to go extinct.

Over 98% of all organisms that have lived on Earth are now extinct. A mass extinction event occurs when a large number of species die out within a small time frame (relative to the age of Earth). Mass extinctions are intensively studied for both cause and effect, as there is usually room for debate regarding catalysts that precede the extinction and the massive influx of new biological species that follows. There have been five major mass extinctions, dubbed the “Big Five,” that have wiped out at least 50% of the species living at those times. The most well known mass extinction of the Big Five, with the decimation of every species of non-avian dinosaur, is the Cretaceous-Paleogene

Habitat destruction, deforestation, ozone depletion, global warming, and poaching. These actions and ecological happenings are creating a world where animals are going extinct at rapid rates. Our world is on the brink of what scientists believe is the sixth mass extinction. Unlike the five previous mass extinction, the latest one killing a majority of the dinosaurs, the main causes for this current extinction are anthropogenic reasons, not natural events.

Bill Freedmen, author of “Endangered Species—Human Causes Of Extinction and Endangerment” notes, “scientists approximate that present extinction rates are 1,000 to 10,000 times higher than the average natural extinction rate.” These distressing numbers should be acted upon to save the endangered species and avoid the catastrophic change to this planet if these species were to become extinct. In order to produce change, people need to recognize that habitat loss, climate change, and poaching are all factors in why our animal species are going extinct.

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.

There have been five well known extinctions on this earth. The one most well known is the mass extinction that ended the dinosaurs. Mass extinction is often described as the elimination of a large number of species in a short period of time. Despite what many think, the elimination of species is almost commonplace at this point. The Earth is currently in the middle of a sixth mass extinction, and it’s been caused by the human race.