Prologue by Andrea Guinanzaca

In the Sixth Extinction, Kolbert begins the prologue by noting a mysterious species that has evolved throughout the years and spread around different parts of the world. Eventually, we realize that the species she was talking about is basically, us (humans). She establishes that the world is impacted by humans negatively and positively. The negative is that we can create destruction in the environment we live in such as hunting for animals that causes these animals to move to different areas and adjust to environments they aren't used to. However, humans also have positive impacts in this world because we accomplish remarkable achievements such as improving animal and human life with advanced technology and methods that allow living things to stay alive.

An APES theme that the prologue can connect to is that science is a process. This is because, in the prologue, Kolbert describes humankind as a species that develops over time. For example, in the chapter, Kolbert states, “The process continues, in fits and starts, for thousands of years, until the species, no longer so new, has spread to practically every corner of the globe… Homo sapiens… reproduce at an unprecedented rate. In a single century the population doubles; then it doubles again, and then again.”  In this quote, Kolbert talks about how humans coming into this world was a whole process. Later, towards the end of the prologue, Kolbert talks about how they were five past predecessors that lead the planet to undergo 5 mass extinctions. Overall, throughout this book, I believe that Kolbert will focus on proving the point that mass extinction is currently happening in our planet and that there are several ways we can do to delay or even stop it from happening.