Chapter 6 (Kwasi Obeng-Dankwa)

Chapter 6 starts off by talking about a small island called  Castello Aragonese which formed millions of years ago by high pressure caused by the African and Eurasian tectonic plates. Kolbert then goes on to talk about the Industrial Revolution during the 19th century and the many negative effects that it has had on our planet, largely due to a large number of natural resources used up and trees cut down within that time. Specifically, carbon dioxide rates are focused on and Kolbert expresses that it will be more than double the Industrial Revolution with our current rate of growth. The major problem expressed in the chapter is ocean acidification and the negative effects it has had on marine life such as depriving them of nutrients and wiping out of ecosystems.

I connected this chapter to the book How The Other Half Lives by Jacob Riis. In the book, it expressed the negative effects of the Industrial Revolution, particularly on tenant living. As a result of an urban population increase due to the new jobs created by it, there was a very limited amount of space to live and as a result, many immigrants would live in very cramped, dirty, and unsanitary apartments. Not only did it affect the Earth, it also negatively affected humans ourselves by making people live like caged animals. The theme that connected the most with this chapter was: Humans alter natural systems. As stated in the book, "Since the start of the Industrial Revolution, humans have burned through enough fossil fuels... to add some 365 billion metric tons of carbon to the atmosphere. Deforestation has contributed another 180 billion ton." As a result of the carbon dioxide, we have additionally added to the atmosphere has also drastically affected our oceans. As stated in the book, "Again and again these experiments have confirmed the hazards posed by rising CO2. While many species will apparently do fine, even thrive in an acidified ocean, lots of others won't(118)." With human activities, we are slowly acidifying our oceans and even as little of a 0.01 change in pH has serious consequences on marine life. Yet, we are constantly acidifying it and this may lead to even more extinction.