WE ARE OPEN - SEPTEMBER - THE SIXTH EXTINCTION: AN UNNATURAL HISTORY

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

This is the thread for the discussion of the September Book of the Month - The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert.

by Elizabeth Kolbert

Pulitzer Prize Winner - General Non Fiction - Andrew Carnegie Medal Nominee for Nonfiction (2015), Kirkus Prize Nominee for Nonfiction (2014)

About the Author:



Elizabeth Kolbert traveled from Alaska to Greenland, and visited top scientists, to get to the heart of the debate over global warming. Growing out of a groundbreaking three-part series in The New Yorker (which won the 2005 National Magazine Award in the category Public Interest), Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change brings the environment into the consciousness of the American people and asks what, if anything, can be done, and how we can save our planet.

She explains the science and the studies, draws frightening parallels to lost ancient civilizations, unpacks the politics, and presents the personal tales of those who are being affected most—the people who make their homes near the poles and, in an eerie foreshadowing, are watching their worlds disappear. Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change was chosen as one of the 100 Notable Books of the Year (2006) by The New York Times Book Review. Her most recent book, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, a book about mass extinctions that weaves intellectual and natural history with reporting in the field, was a New York Times 2014 Top Ten Best Book of the Year. The Sixth Extinction also won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize in the General Nonfiction category and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle awards for the best books of 2014. As with Field Notes from a Catastrophe, The Sixth Extinction began as an article in The New Yorker.

Elizabeth Kolbert has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1999. She has written dozens of pieces for the magazine, including profiles of Senator Hillary Clinton, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

Her series on global warming, “The Climate of Man,” appeared in The New Yorker in the spring of 2005 and won the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s magazine award. Also in 2006, she received the National Academy of Sciences Communication Award in the newspaper/magazine category and was awarded a Lannan Writing Fellowship. In September 2010, Kolbert received the prestigious Heinz Award which recognizes individuals who are addressing global change caused by the impact of human activities and natural processes on the environment.

She has also been awarded a 2010 National Magazine Award in the Reviews and Criticism category for her work in the New Yorker, and the Sierra Club's 2011 David R. Brower Award. She recently won the Walter Sullivan Award for Excellence in Science Journalism from the American Geophysical Union.

Elizabeth Kolbert’s stories have also appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Vogue, and Mother Jones, and have been anthologized in The Best American Science and Nature Writing and The Best American Political Writing. She edited The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2009. A collection of her work, The Prophet of Love and Other Tales of Power and Deceit, was published in 2004.

Prior to joining the staff of The New Yorker, Kolbert was a political reporter for The New York Times.

- written by or edited by Elizabeth Kolbert

Note: A special spoiler GLOSSARY thread has been set up for all articles, web pages, videos, interviews which relate to this book that are not already featured videos. This way we can keep this non spoiler discussion thread relatively free of sundry postings related to climate change, global warming so we can focus on the discussion of this book which deals with the sixth in progress extinction. There is so much here that we need the spoiler thread to not impact the topic questions and conversation. However, if you do not like spoilers - then do not visit the glossary spoiler thread until after you finish the book - it is up to you.

Here is the link: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Synopsis:

Over the last half a billion years, there have been five mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists around the world are currently monitoring the sixth extinction, predicted to be the most devastating extinction event since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. This time around, the cataclysm is us. In The Sixth Extinction, two-time winner of the National Magazine Award and New Yorker writer Elizabeth Kolbert draws on the work of scores of researchers in half a dozen disciplines, accompanying many of them into the field: geologists who study deep ocean cores, botanists who follow the tree line as it climbs up the Andes, marine biologists who dive off the Great Barrier Reef. She introduces us to a dozen species, some already gone, others facing extinction, including the Panamian golden frog, staghorn coral, the great auk, and the Sumatran rhino. Through these stories, Kolbert provides a moving account of the disappearances occurring all around us and traces the evolution of extinction as concept, from its first articulation by Georges Cuvier in revolutionary Paris up through the present day. The sixth extinction is likely to be mankind's most lasting legacy; as Kolbert observes, it compels us to rethink the fundamental question of what it means to be human.

Praise for The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert

“Powerful... Kolbert expertly traces the ‘twisting’ intellectual history of how we’ve come to understand the concept of extinction, and more recently, how we’ve come to recognize our role in it... An invaluable contribution to our understanding of present circumstances.”
—Al Gore, The New York Times Book Review

“Arresting... Ms. Kolbert shows in these pages that she can write with elegiac poetry about the vanishing creatures of this planet, but the real power of her book resides in the hard science and historical context she delivers here, documenting the mounting losses that human beings are leaving in their wake.”
—The New York Times

“Beautifully written. An excellent book.”
—Jon Stewart, The Daily Show

“Ms. Kolbert’s lively account is thought-provoking.”
—The Wall Street Journal

“What's exceptional about Kolbert's writing is the combination of scientific rigor and wry humor that keeps you turning the pages.”
—National Geographic

“Riveting… It is not possible to overstate the importance of Kolbert’s book. Her prose is lucid, accessible and even entertaining as she reveals the dark theater playing out on our globe.”
—San Francisco Chronicle

“Your view of the world will be fundamentally changed… Kolbert is an astute observer, excellent explainer and superb synthesizer, and even manages to find humor in her subject matter.”
—The Seattle Times

“An epic, riveting story of our species that reads like a scientific thriller—only more terrifying because it is real. Like Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, Elizabeth Kolbert’s The Sixth Extinction is destined to become one of the most important and defining books of our time.”
—David Grann, author of The Lost City of Z

“Elizabeth Kolbert's cautionary tale, The Sixth Extinction, offers us a cogent overview of a harrowing biological challenge. The reporting is exceptional, the contextualizing exemplary. Kolbert stands at the forefront of what it means to be a socially responsible American writer today.”
—Barry Lopez, author of author of Arctic Dreams

“With her usual lucid and lovely prose, Elizabeth Kolbert lays out the sad and gripping facts of our moment on earth: that we’ve become a geological force, driving vast swaths of creation over the brink. A remarkable addition to the literature of our haunted epoch.”
—Bill McKibben, author of Oil and Honey: The Education of an Unlikely Activist

“The sixth mass extinction is the biggest story on Earth, period, and Elizabeth Kolbert tells it with imagination, rigor, deep reporting, and a capacious curiosity about all the wondrous creatures and ecosystems that exist, or have existed, on our planet. The result is an important book full of love and loss.”
—David Quammen, author of The Song of the Dodo and Spillover

“I tore through Elizabeth Kolbert’s The Sixth Extinction with a mix of awe and terror. Her long view of extinction excited my joy in life's diversity -- even as she made me aware how many species are currently at risk.”
—Dava Sobel, author of Longitude and Galileo’s Daughter

“Kolbert accomplishes an amazing feat in her latest book, which superbly blends the depressing facts associated with rampant species extinctions and impending ecosystem collapse with stellar writing to produce a text that is accessible, witty, scientifically accurate, and impossible to put down.”
—Publishers Weekly, (starred review)

“Rendered with rare, resolute, and resounding clarity, Kolbert’s compelling and enlightening report forthrightly addresses the most significant topic of our lives.”
—Booklist, (starred review)

“Throughout her extensive and passionately collected research, Kolbert offers a highly readable, enlightening report on the global and historical impact of humans... a highly significant eye-opener rich in facts and enjoyment.”
—Kirkus (starred review)

“[Kolbert] grounds her stories in rigorous science and memorable characters past and present, building a case that a mass extinction is underway, whether we want to admit it or not.”
—Discover Magazine

“[Kolbert] makes a page-turner out of even the most sober and scientifically demanding aspects of extinction. Combining a lucid, steady, understated style with some enviable reporting adventures… she produces a book that is both serious-minded and invites exclamation points into its margins.”
—New York Magazine

“The factoids Kolbert tosses off about nature’s incredible variety—a frog that carries eggs in its stomach and gives birth through its mouth, a wood stork that cools off by defecating on its own legs—makes it heartbreakingly clear, without any heavy-handed sermonizing from the author, just how much we lose when an animal goes extinct. In the same way, her intrepid reporting from far-off places—Panama, Iceland, Italy, Scotland, Peru, the Amazonian rain forest of Brazil, and the remote one tree Island, off the coast of Australia—gives us a sense of the earth’s vastness and beauty.”
—Bookforum

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

SUNDAY BOOK REVIEW

Without a Trace
‘The Sixth Extinction,’ by Elizabeth Kolbert
By AL GORE

FEB. 10, 2014

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/16/boo...

Source: The New York Times

[Teri]

Remember the following:

Everyone is welcome but make sure to use the goodreads spoiler function.

If you come to the discussion after folks have finished reading it, please feel free to post your comments as we will always come back to the thread to discuss the book.

The rules

You must follow the rules of the History Book Club and also:

First rule of Buddy Read:
Respect other people's opinions, no matter how controversial you think they may be.

Second rule of Buddy Read:
Always, always Chapter/page mark and spoiler alert your posts if you are discussing parts of the book.

To do these spoilers, follows these easy steps:

Step 1. enclose the word spoiler in forward and back arrows; < >

Step 2. write your spoiler comments in

Step 3. enclose the word /spoiler in arrows as above, BUT NOTE the forward slash in front of the word. You must put that forward slash in.

Your spoiler should appear like this:
(view spoiler)

And please mark your spoiler clearly like this:

State a Chapter and page if you can.
EG: Chapter 24, page 154

Or say Up to Chapter *___ (*insert chapter number) if your comment is more broad and not from a single chapter.

Chapter 1, p. 23
(view spoiler)[I know everything now about chapter one and I am going to post it here - oops I better place this in a spoiler alert so I do not ruin the book for others (hide spoiler)]

If you are raising a question/issue for the group about the book, you don't need to put that in a spoiler, but if you are citing something specific, it might be good to use a spoiler.

By using spoilers, you don't ruin the experience of someone who is reading slower or started later.

Thanks.

[Teri]

You can copy and paste below to get your spoiler right:

<spoiler>Put Text Here</spoiler>

[Teri]

Contents

Author’s Note xi
Prologue 1
I: The Sixth Extinction 4
II: The Mastodon’s Molars 23
III: The Original Penguin 47
IV: The Luck of the Ammonites 70
V: Welcome to the Anthropocene 92
VI: The Sea Around Us 111
VII: Dropping Acid 125
VIII: The Forest and the Trees 148
IX: Islands on Dry Land 173
X: The New Pangaea 193
XI: The Rhino Gets an Ultrasound 217
XII: The Madness Gene 236
XIII: The Thing with Feathers 259
Acknowledgements 273
Notes 277
Selected Bibliography 293
Photo/Illustration Credits 305
Index 307

[Teri]

For those who like a schedule, you can follow this one below. You are welcome to read faster or slower, since this discussion will remain open after October.


Syllabus

Contents

Author’s Note xi - Week of September 3, 2015 - WEEK ONE
Prologue 1 - Week of September 3, 2015 - WEEK ONE
I: The Sixth Extinction 4 - Week of September 3, 2015 - WEEK ONE
II: The Mastodon’s Molars 23 - Week of September 14, 2015 - WEEK TWO
III: The Original Penguin 47 - Week of September 14, 2015 - WEEK TWO
IV: The Luck of the Ammonites 70 - Week of September 14, 2015 - WEEK TWO
V: Welcome to the Anthropocene 92 - Week of September 21, 2015 - WEEK THREE
VI: The Sea Around Us 111 - Week of September 21, 2015 - WEEK THREE
VII: Dropping Acid 125 - Week of September 21, 2015 - WEEK THREE
VIII: The Forest and the Trees 148 - Week of September 28, 2015 - WEEK FOUR
IX: Islands on Dry Land 173 - Week of September 28, 2015 - WEEK FOUR
X: The New Pangaea 193 - Week of September 28, 2015 - WEEK FOUR
XI: The Rhino Gets an Ultrasound 217 - Week of October 5, 2015 - WEEK FIVE
XII: The Madness Gene 236 - Week of October 5, 2015 - WEEK FIVE
XIII: The Thing with Feathers 259 - Week of October 5, 2015 - WEEK FIVE

Acknowledgements 273 - These should be reviewed while reading different chapters
Notes 277
Selected Bibliography 293
Photo/Illustration Credits 305
Index 307

[Teri]

Those of you who are going to read The Sixth Extinction. Use the spoiler html because this is a single thread discussion.

1. Read message four and that message shows you the rules for the buddy read discussion and how to do the spoiler html.

2. Message 5 actually shows you the spoiler html code. Use it on this thread.

3. Where is the Table of Contents and the reading syllabus? - Message 6 and 7.

[Teri]

All, we do not have to do citations regarding the book or the author being discussed during the book discussion on these discussion threads - nor do we have to cite any personage in the book being discussed while on the discussion threads related to this book.

However if we discuss folks outside the scope of the book or another book is cited which is not the book and author discussed then we do have to do that citation according to our citation rules. That makes it easier to not disrupt the discussion.

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Folks, we are open and Teri is going to be helping out with this book and will be moderating. I will be here too.

[Teri]

Prologue (with Topics for Discussion)

(view spoiler)[The books starts out with a discussion on how the earth and all creatures (humans and animals) have changed since the beginning of time. There have been five specific ancient events called the Big Five that have had catastrophic results. The author feels that we are on the cusp of The Sixth Extinction.

1. What are your thoughts on climate change? How much is caused by natural changes vs. humans/animals?
2. As a society, we are starting to make changes in how we treat the Earth, such as recycling, going off the grid, working toward cleaning up oceans, etc. What more can we do? Is it too little too late?
3. What are your impressions of the book so far? (hide spoiler)]

[Teri]

We are open for discussion - since this is a one thread discussion if your responses to any of the questions include spoilers - please use the spoiler html like I did in message 10 about the Prologue.

If there are general discussions that are not being discussed in the book - of course the spoiler html does not have to be used. But if we are discussing elements or story line then of course it does.

Always put in bold above the spoiler the section of the book you are describing as I did in message 11 - the how to's are described in message 4 and 5. The suggested reading schedule - table of contents and syllabus are laid out in message 6 and 7.

Also, to not disrupt the flow of the discussion:

All, we do not have to do citations regarding the book or the author being discussed during the book discussion on these discussion threads - nor do we have to cite any personage in the book being discussed while on the discussion threads related to this book.

However if we discuss folks outside the scope of the book or another book is cited which is not the book and author discussed then we do have to do that citation according to our citation rules. That makes it easier to not disrupt the discussion.

So let us dig in and discuss a very interesting and complex subject on the climate, the Earth, its creatures and all that it entails. This should be an interesting read which will foster much discussion and academic debate.

Just remember that the conversation at the HBC is always civil and respectful of group members, the author and the book we are discussing. We can disagree without being disagreeable and we should be able to have a lot of fun with our discussion.

So read on - this week's and next week's assignment includes the Prologue and Chapter One. Since Monthly Reads are a new offering, we are opening the discussion on September 3rd and will run through October 10th. Future offerings will begin on the first of the month and end on the last day of the month.

I look forward to reading your posts.

Regards,

Teri

[Leslie]

Chapter 1

(view spoiler)[I am loving this book! It is on the list for another book club I'm in, so I was especially interested in reading it. Although I have a science background, it's been awhile since I've formally studied the mass extinctions and my reading on environmental changes tends to be more global these days. I realized as I read this how much I miss reading about a particular species of frogs, etc. Biology, Zoology, and Botany were among my very favorite classes in school.

I took the time to google the frogs, the location in Panama, and pictures of the B&B the frogs stayed in. That land is absolutely beautiful. As you read you can't help but think....why live in a volcanic crater? But, if you look at the pictures you'll see why. Is it really any more crazy than living near a nuclear power plant, or on an earthquake fault line?

I feel certain that the fate of those amphibians was/is tied to industrial pollutants. I'll bet if they looked around at the local businesses and tracked how they manage their waste enlightenment would come. That would be the controllable part. Humidity thresholds, so important for amphibian life stages, is tied to global warming and, therefore, not readily fixed.

Extinctions due to man always make me angry and frustrated. There are so many examples. I feel sad every time I drive to the Appalachian Trail and see the dead trees or barren land at the top of the mountain (plight of the chestnut tree, etc). Some changes come from introduction of new pests, others from negligence of our creation. I'm currently battling Japanese beetles in the yard and Brazilian fire ants, neither of which should be here. :-( (hide spoiler)]

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Chapter One - Response to Leslie

(view spoiler)[Hello Leslie - you have the spoiler html down - bold the chapter so it stands out but great.

Now the good stuff - your comment - great, great post. I am sure we will add some of those photos - please feel free to add them too - also in spoiler html unfortunately because this is a single thread discussion for quicker reads.

I agree that mankind is poisoning itself with toxins and pesticides from pollutants. I buy organic but those who do not should make sure to wash their fruit and vegetables. That will help a little bit.

I am not sure how the far right can still deny global warming and something needs to be done with or without their support. I think the planet is already in serious trouble. You point out an important fact about humidity thresholds.

Man can ruin anything. Japanese beetles, etc are a problem - many times these kinds of pests come over on shipments (shipping) and even suitcases in travel.

Let us hope that man smartens up. (hide spoiler)]

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Some things to think about when reading this book and AFTER

(view spoiler)[Discussion Questions to contemplate before and after reading this book - feel free to discuss any of them but please place your responses in spoiler html and if possible place a header in bold showing the part of the book and pages you are referring to or section - since this is a single thread discussion

1. Has reading this book changed your views about climate change in any
way?

2. Did you find what you learned in this book alarming?

3. What do you think about the example of the ammonite – they were perfectly adapted to their environment, but the catastrophic effects of the asteroid still resulted in their extinction.

4. Do you see any way of slowing the acidification of the ocean? (pg118 tipping point is pH 7.8 – expected 2100)

5. Do you think the “islands on dry land” method of studying small ecosystems can help us to predict the effect of our actions our larger ecosystem?

6. In some parts of the world the number of species has dropped, in some parts of the world the number of species has increased. How does this add to the difficulty of predicting the future?

7. What percentage Neanderthal are you?

8. How far would you go to stop a species from becoming extinct?

9. Do you think that Kolbert remains unbiased about the subject?

10. Do you think you will change the way you life and living habits as a result of reading this book?

Source: https://claiready.wordpress.com/2014/...- kolbert-book-club-discussion-questions/] (hide spoiler)]

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

The Conversation: Elizabeth Kolbert and Bill McKibben - NOTE THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS ARTICLE

(view spoiler)[AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX FEBRUARY 7, 2014
Kolbert, author of The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, and McKibben, founder of 350.org, discuss raising awareness about environmental catastrophe.

Source: http://prospect.org/article/conversat... (hide spoiler)]

Please fee free to discuss any aspect of the article but please use spoilers for those aspects reflected in the book - thank you.

[Teri]

Chapter One

(view spoiler)[Great observations and comments, Leslie. This is a subject that I tend to be passionate about as well. As a two-time cancer survivor, I tend to be more concerned about what I put in my body these days. I admit that I'm not completely where I want to be as far as eliminating non-processed foods, etc. but have made radical changes. On top of that, we have a 2500 acre family ranch and have just started beekeeping after reading about Colony Collapse Disorder. Another species that humans are killing out due to pesticides. So as I read about the Golden Frogs (and others) that are nearing extinction, I get a bit angry.

It's obvious that we're lacking in educating John Q. Public about the effects of the chemicals that we've introduced to the world, but I think we are on an upward trend. That is, I think that we have some great champions out there that are trying to get the word out. We just need to continue to bring these conversations up with friends and loved ones. (hide spoiler)]

[Teri]

El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center
Website


The Panamanian golden frog once lined the streams in El Valle during the rainy season, but is now extinct in the wild. (Photo by: Mehgan Murphy, Smithsonian's National Zoo)

Mission

Our mission is to rescue and establish assurance colonies of amphibian species that are in extreme danger of extinction throughout Panama. We will also focus our efforts and expertise on developing methodologies to reduce the impact of the amphibian chytrid fungus (Bd) so that one day captive amphibians may be re-introduced to the wild.

Vision

The Panamanian Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project will be a sustainably financed, Panamanian-led organization that has stemmed the tide of extinctions caused by amphibian chytrid fungus and other threats to amphibians. We will lead successful recovery programs for Panama’s endangered amphibians and serve as an exemplary model that can be replicated to address the threat of chytridiomycosis to the survival of amphibians worldwide.
(Source: El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center)

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

They are/were a beautiful amphibian.

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Note: A special spoiler GLOSSARY thread has been set up for all articles, web pages, videos, interviews which relate to this book that are not already featured videos. This way we can keep this non spoiler discussion thread relatively free of sundry postings related to climate change, global warming or this book which deals with the sixth in progress extinction. There is so much here that we need the spoiler thread to not impact the topic questions and conversation. However, if you do not like spoilers - then do not visit the glossary spoiler thread until after you finish the book - it is up to you. We will continue to post ancillary material here which directly relates to the pages we are reading.

Here is the link: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Folks - here is the syllabus for this quick read - for week one we are reading through page 23. This is the first book of the month and the announcement was made late so we are giving more time to get the book, start the book and finish the book than we will do for all subsequent Book of the Months. We do hope that folks have gotten their books already but you have extra time on this one.

Next week or so which begins on September 14th (because since this is the first book of the month we wanted to give everyone extra time to get their books and catch up) - we are reading from page 23 through 91 so a lot of reading from September 14th through September 20th so if you have your book already you can pace yourself from the 7th through the 13th and get through some of the reading for the September 14th week in advance.

The third week (due to extra time given) begins on September 21st through September 27th - pages 92 - 147

The fourth week begins on September 28th through October 4th - pages 148 - 216

The fifth week begins on October 5th and goes through October 10th (because we gave extra time because this is the first book of the month) - pages 217 - 273 - we will normally have one book of the month during any particular month - in this case we will be already starting the October Book of the Month at about the same time.

As outlined above - we will be ending the discussion on October 10th - but the threads on all of the Books of the Month discussions are always open and we will always respond to you - so it is never too late.

See the Syllabus below:

Author’s Note xi - Week of September 3 - 13th - WEEK ONE
Prologue 1 - Week of September 3 - 13th - WEEK ONE
I: The Sixth Extinction 4 - Week of September 3 - 13th - WEEK ONE
II: The Mastodon’s Molars 23 - Week of September 14 - 20th - WEEK TWO
III: The Original Penguin 47 - Week of September 14 - 20th - WEEK TWO
IV: The Luck of the Ammonites 70 - Week of September 14 - 20th - WEEK TWO
V: Welcome to the Anthropocene 92 - Week of September 21st - 27th - WEEK THREE
VI: The Sea Around Us 111 - Week of September 21st - 27th - WEEK THREE
VII: Dropping Acid 125 - Week of September 21 - 27th - WEEK THREE
VIII: The Forest and the Trees 148 - Week of September 28 - October 4th - WEEK FOUR
IX: Islands on Dry Land 173 - Week of September 28 - October 4th - WEEK FOUR
X: The New Pangaea 193 - Week of September 28th - October 4th - WEEK FOUR
XI: The Rhino Gets an Ultrasound 217 - Week of October 5 - 10th - WEEK FIVE
XII: The Madness Gene 236 - Week of October 5, 2015 - 10th - WEEK FIVE
XIII: The Thing with Feathers 259 - Week of October 5, 2015 - 10th - WEEK FIVE

Acknowledgements 273 - These should be reviewed while reading different chapters
Notes 277
Selected Bibliography 293
Photo/Illustration Credits 305
Index 307

[G]

Chapter 1 (view spoiler)[ I have been concerned about the natural world for as long as I can remember because of my father's upbringing in a rural part of the US in the early 20th century. That said, and keeping in mind I have no claim to any authority on the subject, I wonder why we choose to demonize species like Bd which are new species but which destroy species we currently know. Bd is kind of like humans. It is rapacious in its destruction of species for the benefit of its own survival. I am glad to see the scientists are trying to understand this fungus better, but that they have already learned it can be destroyed by bleach is telling of the human species, don't you think? I find this an interesting conundrum for us. We want to kill viruses because they kill us, but aren't they a species? These are just random thoughts based on the first chapter of what appears to be a very thought provoking book (hide spoiler)]

[Teri]

Chapter One - Response to G

(view spoiler)[It is quite a conundrum. BD is definitely a species. At what point do we contain vs. destroy? I think that careful consideration needs to be made before killing off any species, but then a moral decision needs to be made if one species could destroy another; which is the more important to keep? It is a crazy circle that affects so many, from the smallest living thing to the largest. I think that it comes down to which is more beneficial/destructive or has that potential. Of course, extensive scientific research should play a part in the decision making. (hide spoiler)]

[Leslie]

Chapter 1

I don't know how to bold on my Kindle. Anyway, here's a website with some pictures for the location in Panama.


http://el-valle-panama.com/galeries/e...


(view spoiler)[Teri - I hate to hear about your cancer. You will be in my prayers. Hugs! I'm also trying to eat better, avoid processed foods, avoid unnecessary chemical exposures, make time for exercise, etc. but it is incredibly difficult. (hide spoiler)]

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Chapter One - Dialogue with G

(view spoiler)[I think what the author is implying is that these species are coming into existence because of man and what he has been allowing to enter into the air, soil and ocean and other waterways through environmental pollution as well as the movement of species from one environment to another - global warming and climate change.

And these mutations or rapacious species are aberrations and dangerous to our world today. These pollutants and global introductions of species in areas that they are not supposed to be are creating these aberrations in many forms including Bd because of their impact upon the environment in some way.

Some have blamed the bullfrogs but frankly this kind of evolutionary selection process is alarming and is killing off the world's species millions at a time and frankly we are to blame. Who is to say that one of these fungi if pollutants and environmental disasters are allowed to occur won't wipe out man in some evolutionary selection process with a stronger organism, fungus, virus especially given the fact that they are rapacious and are only concerned about their own survival.

It seems from what I am reading that pesticides are somehow lowering the immune system of these amphibians and allowing this species to take hold. But scientists seem to feel that the amphibians are dying off due to a number of factors which may be cumulative - invasive species, over harvesting, habitat alteration, global change, contaminants, emerging infectious diseases, pesticides, and of course there is also the largely unregulated pet and food trade.

Someone who does not want their pet frog and releases it into the local pond or waterway doesn't help either. And of course the fungus is a lethal skin disease of amphibians so it certainly is deadly and fast. It is the most serious disease of vertebrates in recorded history and it has caused more damage to amphibians than any disease has caused for humans. It also seems to be infecting the crayfish. This is way worse than the bubonic plague was in humans and we better sit up, take notice, bear witness and find out why this is happening. Because we are all connected.

More:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chytrid...
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/200...
http://www.issg.org/database/species/...
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/17166620
http://www.savethefrogs.com/threats/c...
http://www.amphibianark.org/the-crisi...
http://www.nps.gov/pinn/learn/nature/...
http://www.bd-maps.net
http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.c... (hide spoiler)]

[G]

Follow-up with Bentley (view spoiler)[ Bentley, I agree with you entirely. But, why are we, who are one of the most lethal species on the planet, in the position to say that another species about which we know so little should be eradicated? We have destroyed, out of greed, so many beneficial plant and insect species (look what we are doing to bees for example). I just don't trust us. That's all. I am actually a rabid conservationist with no faith in humans. As someone with two autoimmune diseases I feel I am in a position to question how we've managed to destroyed our environment. (hide spoiler)]

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Dialogue with G

(view spoiler)[Of course we all have that right - but I think we should not suffer from analysis paralysis before we do something for our planet or assist these species and try to save them. That is all that I am saying. I think the amphibian population was suffering before the scientists even noticed.

I am sorry about your autoimmune diseases - many are caused by environmental situations and toxins - though I do not know your specific situation but I do wish you well - and I am very sensitive to your situation - we need to get our act together as a country and you know during the world wars - people had to make sacrifices - I do not think our country and our populace know how to do that anymore. I was not born yet but I heard the stories from my grandparents and parents and it was not easy.

When we have insects in our house - most folks get out their can of Raid (and that is part of the problem too). I don't think the politicians are listening to the scientists or even paying attention to how hot it is getting or how severe our storms are becoming - I never remembered this kind of weather in September. (hide spoiler)]

[Teri]

Leslie, thanks for the link. Such a beautiful place! And thanks for the kind words. Four years clear and counting.

Responses to the current discussion:

(view spoiler)[Bentley brought up a great point. The politicians are not listening. GMOs, insecticides, pesticides are doing so much harm to the environment. It's been proven. Companies like Monsanto and Bayer continue to produce the products that are harmful not just to bees and people (and many other creatures great and small) but to our environment. But these companies are in our politician's pockets. That is only one aspect to the global problem. There are a lot of changes that need to take place. So that takes us back to one of the questions posted earlier. Is it too late to reverse the effects of some of the damage that has been done? (hide spoiler)]

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Prologue and other Topics of Discussion

(view spoiler)[In the Prologue which is at the beginning of the book - Elizabeth Kolbert writes:

"No creature has ever altered life on the planet in this way before, and yet other, comparable events have occurred. Very, very occasionally in the distant past, the planet has undergone change so wrenching that the diversity of life has plummeted. Five of these ancient events were catastrophic enough that they’re put in their own category: the so-called Big Five. In what seems like a fantastic coincidence, but is probably no coincidence at all, the history of these events is recovered just as people come to realize that they are causing another one. When it is still too early to say whether it will reach the proportions of the Big Five, it becomes known as the Sixth Extinction.

The story of the Sixth Extinction, at least as I’ve chosen to tell it, comes in thirteen chapters. Each tracks a species that’s in some way emblematic—the American mastodon, the great auk, an ammonite that disappeared at the end of the Cretaceous alongside the dinosaurs. The creatures in the early chapters are already gone, and this part of the book is mostly concerned with the great extinctions of the past and the twisting history of their discovery, starting with the work of the French naturalist Georges Cuvier. The second part of the book takes place very much in the present—in the increasingly fragmented Amazon rainforest, on a fast-warming slope in the Andes, on the outer reaches of the Great Barrier Reef. I chose to go to these particular places for the usual journalistic reasons—because there was a research station there or because someone invited me to tag along on an expedition. Such is the scope of the changes now taking place that I could have gone pretty much anywhere and, with the proper guidance, found signs of them. One chapter concerns a die-off happening more or less in my own backyard (and, quite possibly, in yours).

If extinction is a morbid topic, mass extinction is, well, massively so. It’s also a fascinating one. In the pages that follow, I try to convey both sides: the excitement of what’s being learned as well as the horror of it. My hope is that readers of this book will come away with an appreciation of the truly extraordinary moment in which we live."

Topics for discussion:

a) How many of you were not aware that our planet was under such attack by humans and that so many species have disappeared already? Isn't it a wonder that our 24x7 cable news coverage is not covering something so vital to our existence and talking about it non stop - it is that important.

b) When you read the prologue and the author's words - how did you feel about the planet, what our country or yours is doing about global warming, environmental pollutants, fossil fuels, etc.?

c) When you think about how humans go about their lives today which is different from our parents and grandparents - what do you think we are doing now that is vastly different than what our parents/grandparents did before us?

d) Do you think the politicians and the government of your country is doing enough to save the planet or is everybody ignoring the problem?

e) We are about to read a book which may have a very big impact upon how you feel about the state of the planet - what are your initial thoughts? (hide spoiler)]

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Chapter One

(view spoiler)[I hope not Teri - I fear though that the longer we go on some of these species will not be able to come back. And where are the solutions to an industrialized world - how does the world put the genie back into the bottle. (hide spoiler)]

[G]

Chapter One (view spoiler)[ As the author has pointed out, even scientists are slow to believe these extinctions are happening. And to make it worse, they are happening at an alarmingly rapid rate. Add to that governments filled with inertia, active promotion of industry that does direct harm to biodiversity, political back fighting, and self aggrandizing war and you have what I think is a situation from which the world cannot recover. I don't think the genie can be put back. I am curious to see how the author addresses this (hide spoiler)]

[Teri]

Chapter One

(view spoiler)[I to am curious, G. This book will lead to a very good conversation. (hide spoiler)]

[Dey]

Chapter One

What does the mass die-off of a poisonous gold Costa Rican frog have to do with a sixth world wide mass-extinction? Answer: one weedy species.

[Teri]

Hi Dey! We're glad you're joining in the conversation.

Response to Dey

(view spoiler)[That is great point. If a species is not strong, it may not be able to survive many combatants. Survival of the fittest, right? Do you think that it's that simplistic with the Panamanian Golden Frog? (hide spoiler)]

[Dey]

Hi Teri,
I thank you! It may take me a little while to learn the proper posting tags, etc. Why is everyone putting 'spoilers removed' in their posts? See I'm dumb.

[Teri]

No worries, Dey - we're all here to learn. See messages 4 and 5 above. We post comments particular to the book/reading in spoilers, when we discuss a full book in a single thread like this one. Since everyone reads at a different pace, we want to be sure to be courteous to those that are not as far in the book as the conversation is.

We bold the chapter/topic before the "spoiler" comment in order to alert everyone to what will be discussed, allowing everyone to decide to open the spoiler comment or not, based on their reading.

We do have larger formal reads that have multiple "non-spoiler threads" for each week's reading. For those reads, we don't do the spoiler posts. For Buddy Reads and Monthly Book reads like this one, we're going at a quicker and more casual pace, employing the spoiler tags for posts.

Don't worry if you get something wrong. The moderators will likely point out any mishaps as a helpful reminder. It's a learning process for our new members, but with 11,000 members, it helps to make things readable and uniform, in the hopes that it gives everyone a more enjoyable experience here.

Hope that helps.

[Teri]

I also realize you specifically said "spoilers removed". You'll see that if you are using the Goodreads app on your smartphone/tablet. It's one of the unfortunate side effects of using an app vs. the desktop/website. I'm hoping they'll be adding in features in the future to accommodate html tags.

[Dey]

Thanks for the clear explanation Teri. I may get this after a little practice! Yes I am traveling and using the app. Will be back on computer next week.

[Teri]

Good, good!

[Teri]

Chapter One

(view spoiler)[Came across this article today and thought it coincided well with our conversation.

60,000 Antelope Died in Four Days and No One Knows Why
by TIA GHOSE, LIVESCIENCE


In May 2015, nearly half of all the saigas, a critically endangered antelope that roams the steppe of Kazakhstan, died off. Albert Salemgareyev

It started in late May. When geoecologist Steffen Zuther and his colleagues arrived in central Kazakhstan to monitor the calving of one herd of saigas, a critically endangered, steppe-dwelling antelope, veterinarians in the area had already reported dead animals on the ground.

"But since there happened to be die-offs of limited extent during the last years, at first we were not really alarmed," Zuther, the international coordinator of the Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative, told Live Science.

But within four days, the entire herd — 60,000 saiga — had died. As veterinarians and conservationists tried to stem the die-off, they also got word of similar population crashes in other herds across Kazakhstan. By early June, the mass dying was over.

Now, the researchers have found clues as to how more than half of the country's herd, counted at 257,000 as of 2014, died so rapidly. Bacteria clearly played a role in the saigas' demise. But exactly how these normally harmless microbes could take such a toll is still a mystery, Zuther said.

"The extent of this die-off, and the speed it had, by spreading throughout the whole calving herd and killing all the animals, this has not been observed for any other species," Zuther said. "It's really unheard of."

Saigas, which are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, live in a few herds in Kazakhstan, one small herd in Russia and a herd in Mongolia. The herds congregate with other herds during the cold winters, as well as when they migrate to other parts of Kazakhstan, during the fall and spring. The herds split up to calve their young during the late spring and early summer. The die-off started during the calving period.

Field workers were able to take detailed samples of the saigas' environment — the rocks the animals walked on and the soil they crossed — as well as the water the animals drank and the vegetation they ate in the months and weeks leading up to the die-off.

The researchers additionally conducted high-quality necropsies of the animals, and even observed the behavior of some of the animals as they died. The females, which cluster together to calve their young, were hit the hardest. They died first, followed by their calves, which were still too young to eat any vegetation. That sequence suggested that whatever was killing off the animals was being transmitted through the mothers' milk, Zuther said.

Tissue samples revealed that toxins, produced by Pasteurella and possibly Clostridia bacteria, caused extensive bleeding in most of the animals' organs. But Pasteurella is found normally in the bodies of ruminants like the saigas, and it usually doesn't cause harm unless the animals have weakened immune systems.

So far, the only possible environmental cause was that there was a cold, hard winter followed by a wet spring, with lots of lush vegetation and standing water on the ground that could enable bacteria to spread more easily, Zuther said. That by itself doesn't seem so unusual, though, he said.

Another possibility is that such flash crashes are inevitable responses to some natural variations in the environment, he said. Zuther said he and his colleagues plan to continue their search for a cause of the die-off.
(Source: NBC News) (hide spoiler)]

[Vincent]

Well this book - which has been on my "to read list" in my mind for a while began very deliberately with the first reading section. The searching or the fungus makes me wonder if there might be any correlation to the fungus that bats seem to be suffering from these days.

Anyway having read Bentley's intro and the Gore article I am looking forward to learning as we go.

A thought in my mind regarding global warming and all the current likely extinctions is that Earth will survive but the changes that will happen will disrupt the species here and likely will include the dominant one of which we are members.

So I get to read the book and see how they are doing it. It is maybe a bit more suitable for me as I will go to the Gore Climate Activist training session for three days later this month in Florida.

[Teri]

Welcome to the discussion, Vincent! How exciting that you'll be going to the Gore Climate Activist training. I look forward to hearing about it.

[Vincent]

Bentley wrote: "Chapter One - Dialogue with G

I think what the author is implying is that these species are coming into existence because of man and what he has been allowing to enter into the air, soil and ocean..."

I look at message 25 and wonder why it is a spoiler - ditto for many other messages

Please help me to understand - no one is referencing future parts of the book I think?

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

It does discuss Chapter One and elements of that chapter and it was a response to G.

If there are any elements of the response which mirrors the subject matter of the chapter we place it in the spoiler html.

Vince - you are accustomed to the expanded spotlight discussions that we have where we have weekly non spoiler threads and on those threads we do not need spoilers because we are only talking about the assigned pages or what came before. And there we have both spoiler and non spoiler threads. We do not use the spoiler html there. Here we do and have to.

On the single thread discussions which these discussions happen to be - we talk eventually about the entire book and therefore we need to put the heading (Chapter, section, page number if available) above the spoiler and then folks can read the segments for the particular chapter or pages that they are on and the book will not be spoiled for them or for others following along.

You are placing your responses in spoilers so that the folks who are reading behind you do not have the reading experience spoiled since everything is on one thread in these discussions.

[Andra]

Hi, Everyone. I am intimidated every time I join one of these discussions, but I'm looking forward to some positive personal growth. :)

Prologue and Other Topics of Discussion

(view spoiler)[To answer one of Bentley's topics for discussion: When you think about how humans go about their lives today which is different from our parents and grandparents - what do you think we are doing now that is vastly different than what our parents/grandparents did before us?

Answer: Our lives have become about convenience and ease. We don't forego things because they aren't in season/are unavailable/must be imported from halfway around the world/take too many resources to produce/require harmful processes to mass produce. We give little thought to where anything comes from. Our desire to have what we want when we want it, and for the cheapest price possible, is near the root of extinction.

It isn't a coincidence that I picked up this book after watching Idiocracy. We live in an era where reported news is determined by what will drive clicks/page views/viewers to watch/advertising. The plight of a frog in Central America isn't a sexy topic to package and sell to consumers of 'news.' I miss the newscasts from my childhood in the 1970s, not so much for their depressing commentary, but because they reported fact. "This is what happened today. Good night." How can anyone make a 24/7 barrage of guesses, innuendo and speculative fiction over the death of some frog nobody's heard of?

Maybe my parents' and grandparents' generation didn't think about the future, but when I look around me today, it's hard to believe ANYONE of this generation considers it. Most people I know want to make as much money as possible, however they can. They don't care about the consequences, because they won't be here to see them.

I sound like a fun person to be around. Ha. (hide spoiler)]

[Teri]

Hi Andra! So glad you are joining us. It does sometimes seem a little overwhelming to join in a discussion with such great members, but I assure you, it will always be a positive experience here and you will learn so much with each discussion. My depth of knowledge on the subjects grows with each read, as well as my critical thinking skills. These discussions allow you to see a subject from so many perspectives that it really enhances your learning. I'm looking forward to your contributions in this discussion.

On to our discussion:

My response to Andra

(view spoiler)[I have not seen Idiocracy but will have to go look it up. I agree wholeheartedly that we've become a society of convenience and it did really blossom into that in the 70s, with the "fast food nation" really contributing to that frame of thought. I also think that it's partly due to parents in older generations wanting to provide for their children in ways that their parents couldn't before. Some don't teach what it means to work and struggle for the things they have. We've become a bit of a silver platter society.

And the 24/7 news has succumbed to sensational journalism. They would rather focus on the latest "hot topic" and spin it from as many "experts" as they can find that supports the agenda they are looking to promote than to focus on facts and true news worldwide. That's a whole topic that I can rant and rave about. :-) (hide spoiler)]

[Leslie]

Teri,

Thank you for your post on the animals. Interesting and sad.

[Andra]

Prologue and Other Topics of Discussion -Response to Teri

(view spoiler)[One thing that overwhelms me when reading books like this one is how difficult it is to regulate Man's global actions. Every time I go to Europe, I'm amazed at how much more conscious my friends there are about conservation, about recycling, about energy use. In developing countries, it's impossible to regulate things that impact the rest of us. I hope this book offers some proactive recommendations or ways to encourage Man to work together to ensure the future of our planet.

I'm probably not supposed to introduce off-topic items (like movies) into these threads, but I thought about Idiocracy so many times while reading the prologue and first chapter. I'm not an elitist or a snob, but I sometimes despair at what gets valued. (hide spoiler)]

[Leslie]

Chapter 1

(view spoiler)[Something else rarely discussed are the effects of terrorism on the environment. We don't publicly discuss this the same way we do an obvious building collapsing in the middle if a large city, and yet, terrorists have done many things to contaminate food and water supplies around the world. Those conversations tend to focus on the human effects and rarely make it to a biology discussion, but it's all interwoven. (hide spoiler)]

[Teri]

You're welcome. It seemed quite timely.

Leslie wrote: "Teri,

Thank you for your post on the animals. Interesting and sad."