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the sixth extinction: notes on chapter thirteen

hannah's picture

{chapter thirteen}

  • Reconstruction efforts criticism
    • dealing with the consequences
    • (instead of dealing with the causes)
  • Prevention efforts criticism
    • dealing with the causes
    • (but humans are taking extinction so seriously that they're willing to go to extremes in order to keep it from happening)
  • Some think that humanity will also be a victim
    • "Homo sapiens might not only be the agent of the sixth extinction, but also risks being one of its victims."
  • Others think that we can outrun the extinction 
    • "As long as we keep exploring, humanity is going to survive"
  • Humans now have this power -- we decide "which evolutionary pathways will remain open and which will forever be closed"
  • Most important to remember: Even after humans are gone, the sixth extinction will continue to affect the ecological earth