The Impact of Human Beings on Mass Extinctions

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Cover Letter
The emergence of the human beings in history is marked by both a stunning achievement
and massive destruction. Despite the human beings being the highest species, they are still the
most destructive. They utilize the authority, bravery, and thinking capacity that they have to
make the environments more unbearable for the other creatures. Kolbert in her book The Sixth
Extinction: An Unnatural History covers this subject extensively. She traces the extinction of
some species that had existed millions of years ago.
Human beings' desire to gain more from the environment has led to increased activity on
the initially conserved forests. Most animal and plant species have their habitats in these thick
forests. Clearing the forests for settlement and industrial development endangers the lives of the
species. The creation of more industries has far-reaching consequences which affect the entire
ecosystem. The industrial effects range from acidifying the water masses, releasing excess
greenhouse gases and depleting the ozone layer.
Kolbert is moved by the efforts that the scientists channel towards preserving the
environmental biodiversity. The inspiration makes her believe that the entire humanity will learn
the measures to apply to save the world. Making the right decisions as a society will allow for
harmonious living with the other species. Succinctly, Kolbert successfully manages to convince

the human beings that mass extinction is a reality and results from their activities. This approach
lays a good foundation for the humans to rethink their life-threatening activities that endanger
biodiversity.
Essay Topic 5: The Impact of Human Beings on Mass Extinctions
The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History is a non-fictional book published in 2014.
The book authored by Elizabeth Kolbert gives an account and traces the continuing mass
extinction crisis in the contemporary geological epoch. Kolbert, in the book, argues that the only
life-supporting planet is in the midst of an artificial modern humanmade extinction. She gives
chronicles of the earlier witnessed mass extinction incidents and relates them to the ongoing
widespread and accelerated extinctions. She backs up these by offering a description of
individual species that have become extinct as a result of human actions. Essentially, the entire
book is an account that attempts to explain the epigraph at the start from E.O Wilson. As such,
the book is more of a development of the statement rather than a series of disconnected events
attributed to the divisions into different chapters. Human beings in their quest and exhibition of
knowledge have led to disgrace to the other beautiful creation. This nature of the human beings
could be highly blamed for most extinctions including their closest Neanderthal relatives.
Although human activity puts the lives of the entire creation at risk the scientists are tirelessly
playing their role to ensure that the earth does not lose its biodiversity. The efforts of the
scientists are however not adequate owing to the fact that extinction is a social problem that
requires social solutions.
Kolberts in her much educative book on the ecosystems explores the relationship between
the highest creation (human beings) and the environment outside them. This informs her
conclusion that the human activities and behavior are on the verge of causing a mass extinction