Limon Miah- Chapter 3 Journal

      In Chapter 3 of, The Sixth Extinction, Kolbert explores the different ideas of Uniformitarianism and Catastrophism. Charles Lyell's uniformitarian believed that some species did indeed go extinct, but however, it was a slow process rather than a single catastrophe that causes immediate mass extinction. Additionally, Lyell believed that the world changed in ways that are impossible for humans to keep track of, he did not believe in Darwin's theory of evolution. In contrast, Darwin believed that there were always species with dominant characteristics and others without them, therefore species were always in constant competition for resources that aided in survival. He also states that as overtime species die out, new species emerge and their survival depends on the qualities that they have. Furthermore, Darwin believes that this idea of natural selection also directly affects people, stating human intelligence as an example of an evolutionary adaptation. Through Darwin's perspective, this explains human manipulation of the environment and resources on Earth that they have used to their advantage for thousands of years. On the other hand, Darwin left out one important detail of his theories that Kolbert states later in the chapter after her visits to The Icelandic Museum of Natural History, where she studied the great auk, a bird that resembled the modern day penguin that had gone extinct due to humans hunting them for food and fuel. After this visit, Kolbert goes against Darwin and instead states that humans are different from all other species as they are the ones that cause other species to go extinct, while Darwin naively believed that humans are no different than any other species on Earth. 
    An APES theme that this chapter connects to is that the Earth is itself one interconnected system and that these natural systems change over time. A takeaway I had from the chapter is Darwin's theory about evolution and the concept of survival of the fittest. In the chapter, Kolbert states, “Darwin's theory about how species originate doubled as a theory of how they vanished, Extinction and evolution were to each other the warp and weft of life’s fabric...the appearance of new forms and the disappearance of old forms were...bound together… driving both was the struggle for existence… which rewarded the fit and eliminate the less so” (pg. 54). This is saying that all the species that have been on Earth have played a role in this bigger idea of “life” on Earth, and their role and purpose either dealt with helping the survival of another species or if they had the resources and qualities available, aided their own survival through other species. Essentially, species are all connected with each other and they all work together, either directly or indirectly to “struggle for existence” or be completely eliminated. (C) I connected this to the modern day human interaction, but however in a social context. Humans are also in a battle for “survival of the fittest” in society with themselves. This is done through everyday actions such as a person working a job to provide money that buys food, a form of shelter, and other amenities. Looking at this example from a broader context, the only way that these things are accomplished for people is if one individual works harder than another in areas such as education or any other aspect that may fit the situation. The reality of this system is that this always leaves one individual better prepared to live life, while another individual is left to experience hardships such as poverty that affect their quality of life. Thus in the context of Darwin's theory, people who are able to better prepare themselves don't have to “struggle for existence” while others who don't are left to fight this battle. 
 Image of the Great Auk.