The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

This is the discussion thread for the Fall 2017 Group Read The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History. Please post your comments here. This thread is not restricted to those choosing this book for task 20.10, feel free to join in the discussion. Warning- spoilers ahead!

The requirement for task 20.10: You must participate in the book's discussion thread below with at least one post about the contents of the book or your reaction to the book after you have read the book.

Fascinating and depressing. My library copy had some notes, in pencil, along the margin that I wish had been more elaborate. For example, in the chapter "The Forest and the Trees," the paragraph about calculating rates of tree migration (who knew trees migrated), the author quotes a scientist as stating "global warming was driving the average genus up the mountain at a rate of eight feet per year. But he also found the average masked a surprising range of response." The intrepid margin-writer noted "? not possible because..." Ah how I wish he (or she) had finished that thought on the page! Elizabeth Kolbert was very narrative and personal enough to keep me interested in her experiences, rather than just writing down dry facts. That man's very existence has always been a somewhat detrimental force (depending if a species is coming or going, if you will) is hard to avoid, like Schrodinger's cat: "Thought it might be nice to imagine there once was a time when man lived in harmony with nature, it's not clear that he ever really did."

.Since the title of the book is The Sixth Extinction, I expected to read more about exactly that,. Instead, there was a lot about extinction in general and animals that had become extinct or were in danger of becoming extinct. One of the other points the author belabored was how the sixth extinction is the "fault" of man, as well as climactic changes and exotic species causing the decline of native species. While man certainly has played an important part in the alteration of the earth's situation, he obviously is not entirely to blame, otherwise why did the extinctions that predated mankind happen?

This book was only ok. It took me way too long to figure out what the book was about- a call to action? Just informational purposes? I finally settled on just information, and in that case, there are just way too many examples to show her point. Overall, I'd say that the book wasn't terrible, but it really lacked direction.

An interesting, thought-provoking and somewhat alarming book. The author looks at about a dozen different species in danger of extinction, all of them spurred on by human activity. This is in contrast to the earlier mass extinctions which occurred from natural events such as asteroids. I liked the way she visited the various locations of these species and was able to personalize their stories.

Andy wrote: ".Since the title of the book is The Sixth Extinction, I expected to read more about exactly that,. Instead, there was a lot about extinction in general and animals that had become extinct or were i..."

I mean did you read the book? Some of those reasons are explained and quite thoroughly.

As a science teacher, I found myself continually thinking about how this book would make a great framework for teaching a course on environmental science. Much of the content within the book was not new to me, however, I thoroughly enjoyed the way in which it was presented. Very readable. Very important.

Zach wrote: "Andy wrote: ".Since the title of the book is The Sixth Extinction, I expected to read more about exactly that,. Instead, there was a lot about extinction in general and animals that had become exti..."

Yes, I read the book. I'm just not sure I agree with the author's assessment of the reasons for the extinction.

Andy wrote: "Zach wrote: "Andy wrote: ".Since the title of the book is The Sixth Extinction, I expected to read more about exactly that,. Instead, there was a lot about extinction in general and animals that ha..."


I guess you lost me then because it's not as if this was an opinion piece by the author. Was there a particular scientist (of which there were many representing a wide breadth of research) in the book with which you disagreed? Perhaps all of them?

Zach wrote: "Andy wrote: "Zach wrote: "Andy wrote: ".Since the title of the book is The Sixth Extinction, I expected to read more about exactly that,. Instead, there was a lot about extinction in general and an..."

I just think when you are dealing with the "soft sciences" )as opposed to Chemistry and Physics where experiments can be conducted which produces a quantifiable result), you can't come to any exact conclusion. The author did not state in so many words that mankind is the "cause" of the Sixth Extinction ,but she left me with the distinct impression that this was the case. Since we are dealing with biological systems interacting with each other as well as climatic and geological changes, I think it is impossible to define any cause and effect relationship. For example Man may well have contributed to the transportation of organisms from one continent to another, but that is not the only possible scenario. In addition the destruction of animal habitats by humans may have contributed to their decline, but there are other factors that should be taken into account. Enough said.

Can you elaborate any further on other possible factors or at least point us to some resources explaining them?

I'd also like to add that biology is not a pseudoscience or soft science and relies entirely on our understandings of physics and chemistry. Take for example coral bleaching and ocean acidification. These are processes that can be readily understood through chemical experiments which do indeed produce quantifiable results. Biologists aren't making assumptions, but are held to standards of statistical evidence just as much as other scientific disciplines.

Zach wrote: "Can you elaborate any further on other possible factors or at least point us to some resources explaining them?

I'd also like to add that biology is not a pseudoscience or soft science and relies ..."

Although I have degrees in biology and zoology, my husband who is the physical chemist will readily point out that biological results are dependent on statistic to prove their validity and the parameters that one selects to prove this validity can make the interpretation of the results vary considerably whereas if you add Na + CL you will always get NaCl. In your example of the reefs no one doubts the acidification, but the cause is not so obvious. I am not disparaging biological experimentation , but the cause of what has occurred is not clear cut so my own personal opinion as I was trying to point out in my original post is that there may be many factors which have not been considered and thus blanket statements that this caused this in dealing with living systems is a risky business. Even the most carefully designed experiment when dealing with living systems has probably not taken into account all the possible factors which contributed to the result. I realize I have not given specific examples, but I think you get the idea.

How interesting for me to read this right after finishing Gaia: The Human Journey from Chaos to Cosmos...another story based history that made larger concepts easier to understand.
I found the stories fascinating for the most part, and enjoyed imparting tidbits to my son. At one point, I extrapolated something I'd read with my experience in Australia...then within another page I was reading about those same critters! lol
Very little was shocking for me, though I am happy to have an increased understanding & knowledge on the topic. I would read more by this author.

As a side note, I'm glad that Zach questioned Andy, and that Andy was able to clarify. Although, I definitely feel more comfortable with Zach's pov, at least I can understand, within the parameters he/she defined, how a person might arrive at the alternate pov. Unfortunately, from my pov, it's that type of thinking that has us wallowing in fossil fuels & pesticides instead of preventing the majority of our current & future crisis. As long as we refuse, collectively, to take responsibility...even the true 'heroes' (like the people the author visited in this book) won't be able to save us all. Average citizens of the US, my neighbors included, seem to treat everyone & everything else as 'collateral damage' to their unending consumerism.
Well, blessings & thanks for sharing your thoughts!

I am a bit wary of posting my viewpoint as I don't want to be called out on them. I think the author made efforts to make this book accessible to all but i found it hard going and agree it was more about past extinction than the current problems. I did find the chapter that talked about the ocean's pH fascinating but otherwise i was underwhelmed.

First, I was glad I listened to this on audio. The myriad technical science terms would have bogged down my reading. Two things that I wish were included (and may have been in a physical book, I do not know): big picture numbers and what to do now. While I am not someone who needs to be convinced of this topic, I am a skeptic at heart. I dislike stories about individuals or small groups to represent a larger problem without data to back up how large the problem is overall. I think the book would have been stronger with both.

The book also feels lacking without recommendations of actions to help. I'm sure that is a topic for a whole other book, scientific study, congressional committee, argument with family, etc... but I want it all the same. It seems like everything I can do is insignificant. If we stopped driving cars or burning coal tomorrow would it help? Asian billionaires would still want rhino horns because they can't get it up. I recycle, try to eat local, I'm ready for those Tesla roof tiles... does that save endangered animals?

Kudos to the comments so far. This topic can get so heated and it's easy to get defensive. Here's to book people being the best people.

Bookwrm526

I've been meaning to read this book for a while now. Both as a human being who believes that climate change is going to create serious problems for humanity, and as a biology teacher who needs ways to get her students interested in this topic, I think this book is important. I also think it is very well done, enjoyable despite its bleakness, and realistic in the evaluation of the current state of affairs. Thanks for giving me the push I needed to finally get around to reading it.

I also thought this was well done, although I found it depressing.

In reference to the "what do we do?" about this, I think it's certainly true that my own recycling isn't going to do the trick all by itself, but I also think that there are big picture activities to help with climate change and that it's not hard to find them discussed and described by numerous scientists. Unfortunately, it appears to be difficult in the current political climate to follow through with them.

I'm about two thirds through at the moment, and my interest level has so far resembled the graph showing the big five extinctions - up and down and up and down and so on. It started so well and was very interesting when the author was looking at frogs in Panama; then came the long section on trilobites and ammonites and whatnot, and I found it less readable.

My favourite thing I've learnt? The mnemonic for the geologic eras. That's a keeper.

I found this book thought-provoking and very readable. I agree with some of the comments that it was difficult to see what if anything the author wants us to do with this information. Perhaps buy property not so near the shoreline since that will likely be overrun by the ocean by 2100 or 2050 (not sure which). I have a degree in chemistry so liked hearing about the chemical reactions going on in the coral colonies (not that it was happening, but the reactions themselves).

I just finished Caesar's Last Breath: Decoding the Secrets of the Air Around Us and the last chapter especially reminded me of The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History. While Kean (author of Caesar'a Last Breath is not addressing the same subject as Kolbert the last chapter of his book provides a look at extinction in another way.

I'm only about a third of the way through, and not sure what I think of it at this point. It's not quite hitting my science button, nor my "the sky is falling" button, and maybe that's ok. She tells stories about each of these extinctions, in a way that's more interesting than something more sciencey or environmental-warning would probably be.

while I find her writing readable - i'm struggling with the desire to keep reading this - its like not provoking any major feelings for me

Brooke TX

Like EShay, I listened to the audiobook (my favorite format for nonfiction), which was really enjoyable. The book managed to hit the pop science sweet spot of being informative without being dry (some of the descriptive language was really great, like the sea cucumber that felt like "slime covered velvet"). The criticisms that the book didn't offer any call to action to prevent extinctions are sort of baffling to me, as A) there's nothing in the description or text of the book that indicates that it would contain anything of the sort, and B) most of the research cited seems to prove that there's little to be done at this stage anyway.

This book was just OK for me. I thought that it was fairly well written and I agree with others that it was neat that she visited the sites that she spoke about. But also like the others I wish that it focused a little more on the current extinction instead of the past extinctions.

I feel that the human race is having a very large impact on the world but do not believe that is the only factor leading up to this mass extinction but yet some scientists and others are taking heroic measures to try and save what species they can (e.g. sticking your hand up a rhino's anus) to help prevent the extinction of an animal.

When I was in my teens I loved reading about natural history and evolution, but as the years have gone by I have drifted on to other subjects. Reading The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History reminded me of why I love natural history.

A couple of hundred years ago people thought that the world and the creatures on it had looked the same since creation, and Elizabeth Kolbert tells the story of how we found out that wasn't the case. There have been several mass-extinction events through the history that has almost wiped out all life on the planet, and the arguments that we are taking part in a sixth mass-extinction are compelling. Kolbert explains the theories around the earlier mass-extinctions and show how many different causes there can be for the extinction of a species, and then goes on to show which of these apply today. Like many others I wish there was anything I could do the help stop these mass-extinctions, but with so many factors at work there seems to be little one can do.

All in all, a very interesting book.

It also took me awhile to get through this with my interest rising and falling. I don't feel I can add more than what has already been stated. Emotionally it could be so draining. I would hope that as a society we continue to try and reverse and correct as we go forward, but it's also true other events out of our control could occur. With so many factors that can vary outcomes in not just this area but really all areas of our life, it's imperative that we continue to educate and work to find solutions, but find balance with the other factors in our lives that can also contribute to extinction.

This book blew me away. Even though I already quite a bit about the specific cases in the book, there was so much more to it than I knew before. Well researched, well written, and the author was able to visit sites, research institutions and talk to key figures in the fields. Sometimes you just know things, but do not have all the facts, or are not able to put them in an order that makes sense. This book does that for you. Also an excellent resource for all teachers out there: examples, case studies, reports and publications and data sources. :) Recommended reading for all.