Chapter 4 Armando Peralta

Chapter 4 builds off of the concepts that chapter 2 and Chapter 3 discussed by describing a scientists attempt to prove the most popular extinction event: the death of dinosaurs via big rock from space or rather the effect said rock from space had on the planet. Scientist Walter and Luiz Alvarez are responsible for the theory that dinosaur were killed by an asteroid crashing on earth. They discovered large amounts of iridium in a crater in Italy called Gubbio. Iridium comes from asteroids and thus they theorized that an asteroid was responsible for everyone's least favorite extinction event.  Of course their theory wasn't immediately accepted and was met with opposition from uniformitarians that argued that extinction is a slow and gradual process,  what the Alvarez's argued fit more along the lines of catastrophism. Walter and Luiz didn't argue that the impact was responsible but the disturbance the impact had. The theme of science being a process again pops up as new information is presented but it must be evaluated before it becomes the new accepted norm.  I have one question regarding the theory of an asteroid impact which is how do scientist know that iridium comes from asteroids? Is there an somewhere on earth from which they were able to extract iridium off of?

Chapter 3 Armando Peralta

Since the previous chapter talked about extinction, of course the next chapter will have to be a about the first theories regarding extinction. The two main theories were catastrophism and uniformitarianism. Catastrophism was proposed by William Whewell and it states that in the history of earth there have been very catastrophic events which cause many species to go extinct. On the other hand there is uniformitarianism, which was proposed by Charles Lyell and stated that rather than extinction being instantaneous, it was a gradual process. Uniformitarianism influenced the ideas of Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution. The theme of science being a process is again shown in this chapter as scientist use new ideas to come up with new theorize to explain how those ideas may be possible.They elaborate upon each other's theories.

Chapter 2 Armando Peralta

Chapter 2 is about the origins of the concept of extinction. The idea of animals having gone extinct began with one man and one fossil.  That man was Georges Cuvier and the fossil was that of a mastodon.  The theme of this chapter is the scientific process. Initially the fossil's were believed to belong to  living animal species such as an Elephant, a hippopotamus, or an undiscovered species. However, Cuvier proposed that they belonged to a long dead species of elephant-like creatures. The theory was accepted as soon as it had been published. Many believed the mastodon was still at large in the North American continent. It took time for people to turn to Cuvier's theory as the more logical theory regarding what creature the bones belonged to. This conveys how science is constantly changing and as new fossils, natural processes, and new theories are crafted our understanding deepens and more questions arise. Since, the origin of the concept of extinction has now put out there, then the next step would be to find out what could've caused organisms to go extinct.

Chapter 13 (Jalen Jones)

In Chapter 13 the author shines a light on the advancements of human influence in the world . Claiming that we should focus more on the present and how we continue to grow and aid the environment. I completely agree with this statement because the future is what will lead to many more positive advancements. However; many of these advancements cannot have been made without investigating into the past and realizing what problems there were in order to fix them. This can be shown through the process in helping aid environments all over the world. We know what works, what doesn’t and what is setting us back. This is a direct theme to technological and human growth leading to a positive outcome on the world. More people allow for more progressive work and technology helps in many ways.

Chapter 11 (Jalen Jones)

Chapter 11 begins with Kolbert traveling to the Cincinnati Zoo to meet a Sumatran rhinoceros named Suci and Dr. Roth, the zoo's conservation director. Suci was 1 in 5 of the only sumatran rhinos left. When these rhinos first became endangered, it was believed that exporting them to zoo's would be the only way to save their lives. Unfortunately, they were incorrect. Flies, tetanus, and injuries kept the rhinos from reaching or even surviving in the zoo. That's when the zookeeper's figured that they needed to try something new with the rhinos. Switching their diets was the only way to keep them alive. Once they were kept alive, Roth was able to inseminate a rhino named Emi. That's when Suci was born. That's when Kolbert began to question why such amazing and gigantic animals became extinct. This connects with number 5 of the APES themes. While there are so many factors that correlate with the extinction of species, there is no one cause of extinction. In order to determine why these species go extinct, we have to start big then go small. Starting with this huge rhino might give us some ideas on why smaller animals have a harder time surviving in new or even the same area. Maybe then we would be able to find other "overkillers."

Chapter 12 (Jalen Jones)

Chapter 12 begins with Kolbert visiting a valley in Germany called Das Neanderthal. On her journey here she examines the history and the truth behind the extinction of the Neanderthals. Many theories belief that they died off due to climate, or the establishment and interference with homosapiens. One of these inferences were interbreeding which was hypothesized due to similar DNA. This leads on into the theme of science being a process and it continues the change and build as life goes on and as new life is discovered. This can be shown in new life being created and having exponential growth on what is now the world. The interbreeding between different species may have been something needed in order for life to carry on into the new world. 

Chapter thirteen - Waleska Reyes

Chapter thirteen - Waleska Reyes

Chapter thirteen starts off with the quote “futurology has never been a very respectable field of inquiry”. This quote leads me to believe this chapter will be about science forming predictions for the future. Kolbert visits the Institute for Conservation Research at the San Diego Zoo. Kolbert is shown the last genetic remains of a “black-faced honeycreeper, a chunky bird with a sweet face and a ream-colored chest that lived on Maui”. During her trip Kolbert asks an important question: is it necessary for these plants and animals to die? But acts like the Endangered Species Act try to prevent extinction which proves that maybe there is a solution.

Kolbert then meets Barbara Durant, a reproductive physiologist, from a veterinary hospital next to the ICR. Durant explains to Kolbert how she has worked hard to get a Hawaiian crow to reproduce but hasn’t had any luck. This makes Kolbert think about how some humans work hard to save species from extinction.

Kolbert then explains the term “sixth extinction”. Essentially we are in an era where humans are the dominant species therefore they can cause other species to become extinct. Thinking back to the previous chapters it is evident that humans alter the ecosystem and natural systems of other species easily. Kolbert states the outlook of more optimistic individuals by saying, “Human ingenuity will outrun any disaster human ingenuity sets in motion”. Humans will be able to fix the catastrophes they create. This chapter makes me wonder is the extinction of mankind a possibility ?