The Sixth Extinction

The Sixth Extinction, by Elizabeth Kolbert, won the Pulitzer prize for general non-fiction in 2015.

This book is important. Kolbert writes about the five major extinctions that have happened in the past, and examines the events leading up to them, all while looking at the way humans are causing a sixth extinction event today. She talks to meteorologists, paleontologists, geologists, biologists, and numerous other specialists, and examines data and trends to see what the next great extinction will look like and how it will effect us. She also looks at several different species, some extinct and some not, to see how their declines were alike and different.

The most interesting part of the book, was how humans might leave this extinction as their greatest legacy. Species go extinct all the time, but this is the first time it has happened at the hands of another species. This event is something entirely new. And extinction is a strange thing to wonder about. Will I someday have to explain to my children, or grandchildren, where the polar bears went and why there are no more elephants or rhinos? What will I say? Could we have done more of something, or ceased to do other things? Why didn't we care when caring made a difference?

These questions are important. They are questions that I feel I might never find adequate answers for. Kolbert helps to flesh out these questions, and show why they are important. Everyone should read this book. Everyone.