Review Of The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History By Elizabeth Kolbert
Gabbie Berg
Edwin Elias
SOAN 101
November 18th, 2017
Book Review The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert is a story about a journalist who seeks to investigate the sixth extinction and particularly what species are headed towards that fate. There are been a total of five mass extinctions so far, and Kolbert decided she could answer if there would be a sixth in this book. Kolbert begins her investigation by traveling to all different parts of the globe, from Peru to the Great Barrier reef in Austrailia. She is specifically looking for what types of species are endangered and what is causing them to be endangered, and what measures are being taken to protect these species. Although she is looking into what scientists
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Kolbert mentions the idea of natural selection and “natural extinction” which are helpful points to consider. The distinction between the two terms is crucial for understanding the overall idea of mass extinction. She explains natural selection as weaker species being “pushed out” by a stronger one, this being a natural occurrence. Scientist also call this “background extinction” because extinction takes 100 years plus and if you are not a scientist studying this you would not notice a difference, therefore it is slowly occurring in the back. Kolbert notes these extinctions do not make that much of a difference. “Mass extinctions” have a devastating and lasting impact on Earth, the last being the wipeout of the dinosaurs. The major distinction between the two types of extinction is that background extinction is a natural occurring action whereas mass extinction is caused by a cataclysmic event. In the case of the dinosaurs Kolbert and scientists can pretty much say the cause of their extinction was due to a meteor strike …show more content…
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