The Sixth Extinction Book Report

Large amounts of iridium – a chemical element that is not a part of the Earth’s crust composition – were originally found in rocks of Europe and United States, and have been found everywhere ever since. Iridium, common in meteorites, is a testable evidence of the disaster hypothesis. Gould continues that the Cretaceous debacle, which is one of five episodes of mass dying, occurred at the same time as the large comet might have smashed into the Earth. The author believes this is not merely a coincidence, rather, it is a proof of the cause-effect relationship. The demise of a wide range of habitats along with the extinction of dinosaurs gives an inestimable advantage to the disaster theory over other claims, the author adds. The comet struck the Earth, and habitats, from terrestrial to marine, died with geological suddenness. Finally, this hypothesis has had an impact on the study of an atomic war and its consequences. A nuclear war, Gould says, may cause a huge drop in temperatures and result in the extinction of humanity. Testable evidence, study, development, contribution – all this makes good science.

“History” Paleontologist believe that the dinosaurs were already dying rapidly due to the climate change. The climate change played huge role into the extinction of the dinosaurs. The climate change made it mess

There have been five major mass extinction on earth triggered by a distinguishable event, but in The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, Elizabeth Kolbert writes of the narrative of the sixth extinction caused directly by human impact. The book identifies the effects of human activity on how, over humans history on earth, the natural world has been affected. Every environmental impact stems into three basic groups of global problems to nature: Pollution, Habitat loss and Invasive Species. Kolbert explains that each impact can be traced back to one source, human industrial development. With each impact various types of life in the natural world are affected. Deforestation, urbanization, and sea level rise contribute to habitat loss worldwide. When humans began to travel they also brought invasive species and disease along with them; as boats only became bigger more and more invasive species travel. This reverse engineering of the planet species, brings new species that don’t have any natural predators, thus having an easier time driving native species out to endangerment or extinction. The different outcomes that come from human pollution is separated throughout the book, but the idea remains constant; with the development of human culture, pollution has drastically impacted a vast extent of species habitats and their environment.

In chapter three of The Sixth Extinction, Elizabeth Kolbert describes how the Great Auk went extinct. The Great Auk is considered “the original penguin.” Sadly, they became extinct in the 1800s. They were found in North Atlantic; were it is cold. The Great Auks were killed by poachers. The poachers killed them for food, feathers, and even used them to keep their fires stoked to keep them warm. “You take a kettle with you into which you put a Penguin or two, you kindle a fire under it, and this fire is absolutely made of the unfortunate Penguins themselves.” So the questions are: “How do animals, such as corals, survive in an ever-changing environment?” and “How do humans play a role in increasing or causing

In the book The Sixth Extinction written by Elizabeth Kolbert there are a lot of examples that are going on in the world today and also examples of things that started when the first human being was around. This book talks about how we are in the sixth mass extinction, and that is caused by humans. Overall the book goes chapter by chapter and talks about the different mass extinctions there have been, and how they were caused, but also the book talks about different species that have gone extinct and the reasons why. For example the book talks about golden frogs that are located in Panama and how they were seen everywhere located in El Valle de Anton, but they suddenly started disappearing. They were disappearing because of a chytrid fungis cause by humans, when humans travel they were bring this fungis to different places, this ended up killing the frogs (Chapter 1, Kolbert). That is just one example, but throughout the book Kolbert talks about different extinctions like this and what caused them.

American journalist Elizabeth Kolbert authored The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History in 2014. This is a non-fictional account of what Kolbert had named "the sixth extinction": an extinction event caused by humans similar to ones that destroyed earlier forms of life, like the dinosaurs and megafauna.

She explains the concept of ocean acidification, and what humans are doing to help it along, as well as the theory that humans bred with Neanderthals until they were no longer in existence. Kolbert ends on a hopeful note, saying that humans can change their ways very easily and save many species from extinction; however, if we do not change, there very well might be another mass extinction soon approaching.

Some of the ways we have extinguished species include, climate change, air pollution causing ocean acidification, accidental imports of plants animals or fungi, fragmenting and destroying habitats, and poaching and killing animals for resources. I agree with Kolbert. We humans are making the planet difficult for other species to live in. One of the ways that we are killing species is accidental or intentional imports of plants and animals. Kolbert talked about the Pangea.

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.

The book I choose The Sixth Extinction, is by a woman who is a journalist for The New Yorker. So when I did my search, articles by her were the first that presented themselves. I have to admit, I cheated a little bit in that I used the first three news links that were not by her.

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

There have been many scientific studies conducted to prove and disprove the many theories. However, scientific evidence indicates that both gradual climate changes and sudden catastrophic events have caused past extinctions. The question now is if the sixth extinction will be the result of a sudden catastrophe or a more gradual event caused by humans. The effects that humans are having on the earth is often the subject of debate among scientists and ecologists. Data exists that proves human innovation and expansion has contributed to decreased air and water quality as well as global

Summary: In a first person journey that brings her readers around the world, Elizabeth Kolbert researches and explains the effects of human domination on the planet and its resources. Using historical findings of previous extinctions in comparison to earth’s present state she attempts to provide cause and warning for mankind’s seemingly apocalyptic future. Her book, “The Sixth Extinction: an Unnatural History” delves deep into the idea that humanity is currently in the midst of the sixth period of extinction since the beginning of all life. Determined to warn the world of its destructive path, she examines the effects the human race has had (and will continue to have) on other species such as frogs, coral reefs, plants, water creatures, and many mammals while giving a brief yet thorough history lesson of the past five major extinctions that occurred prior to the appearance of Homo sapiens.

Chapter 2: In chapter two of The Sixth Extinction the book explains how extinction is one of the first scientific concepts that children learn in school. Also, it talks about how children in the modern times know more about extinction than scientists did hundreds of years ago. Scientists first theorized the concept of extinction in the late 18th century. In this chapter the book also talked about how a naturalist named Georges Cuvier studied the fossils of an extinct animal called the American Mastodon, or Mammut Americanum, and decided that this creature, like many others, must have all died in the past. In his lifetime, many of Cuvier’s ideas about extinction were harshly criticized, but now, hundreds of years later, Cuvier is praised for

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