Are We In The Midst Of The Sixth Extinction?

I just finished reading The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert.  She received the Pulitzer Prize for this book in 2015.  The book argues that the Earth is in the midst of a modern, man-made, sixth extinction.  She chronicles previous mass extinction events and compares them to the accelerated, widespread extinctions during the present time.  The book is written for the general reader.  Even though it is scientific in nature, it is pretty easy to understand.  I will give you just a few highlights from this book (or should I say low lights), as it doesn't paint a very good picture for our future.

Kolbert estimates flora and fauna loss by the end of the 21st century to be between 20% to 50% of all living species on earth.  Scientific studies have shown that human behavior disrupts Earth's balanced and interconnected systems, "putting our own survival in danger."  Consequently, the Earth systems currently affected are:  the global atmosphere, the water cycle, the ocean's heat absorption, ocean acidity, soil moisture and drought conditions, and so on.  The human species contributes to this disruption, without even intending to.

One alarming area of disruption is in the sea.  Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, we have seen increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.  We have added 365 billion tons of it by burning fossil fuels, and an additional 180 billion tons as a result of deforestation.  Concentrations of carbon dioxide in the air are at a higher level than in the last several million years.  The ph of our ocean is lower and killing much of our marine life.  Coral reefs, due to ocean acidification, may become extinct by the end of the century.

This is a fascinating book on how humans are doing things to our planet that will change it dramatically, causing the loss of millions of species of plant, animal and insect, and putting our own future in jeopardy.  We all need to pay attention, and do what we can to keep our species alive.