The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural HistoryElizabeth Kolbert
Read in 8th Grade
Our species has spread across the globe in an unprecedented global movement. We have messed up Earth's evolutionary process as we know it, wiping out species the minute we find them, and moving them around the world faster than ever before. But are we truly considering its impacts? In each of Earth's previous 5 mass extinctions, there have been sudden drops in biodiversity - just as it is going down now.
Species that have survived even the dinosaur extinctions are being wiped out by humans. At the same time, we are releasing ridiculous amounts of CO₂ into the atmosphere, ten times as fast as the previous extinctions. Ocean acidification is speeding up, causing coral bleaching and a reduction in biodiversity. So are we in the midst of a Sixth Extinction? Will it come to the point, where, human progress leads to human extinction?
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