Extinction

Dear Partners in Green,

Recently there have been more conversations concerning extinctions — not a joy-filled topic, but one that just may wake us up, turn us around, and help us finally face the truth regarding our fragile ecosystem and our abuse of it.

The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert, published in 2014, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning book that explores the ongoing mass extinction event driven by human activity and compares it to the five previous mass extinctions in Earth's history.

Kolbert argues that humans are the primary cause through climate change, habitat destruction, and the introduction of invasive species, leading to a dramatic loss of biodiversity.

She examines how human actions are altering natural processes and making the planet uninhabitable for many species, creating an “unnatural” extinction event.

She writes that we are living in a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene, which is defined by human impact on the planet, and how our activities — including deforestation, ocean acidification, and the spread of invasive species — are causing species to disappear at an alarming rate.

And she contrasts the current event with past mass extinctions, such as the one that wiped out the dinosaurs, highlighting that this one is unique because it is caused by a single species — us.

And since she wrote this book, global scientific consensus has continually affirmed that the Earth remains in a man-made mass extinction event, with climate change, habitat destruction, and ocean acidification driving species loss at rates not seen in millions of years.

And again, this Sixth Extinction is due to the choices made by human beings. It would be one thing if we did not know any better, but we do. And the irony is that the most affluent, most educated, bear the responsibility.

And now, as spring is settling in, let’s recommit ourselves to living as environmentally responsible as we can, as we work to counter the assault on our planet.

Vote, write, call, limit driving, limit flying, shop your closet, reduce meat consumption, plant responsibly, donate to environmental organizations, set an example for the next generation — or maybe let them lead us.

For more information, below is a link to the WWF site:

The Sixth Mass Extinction | WWF

For a Coming Extinction

Gray whale

Now that we are sending you to The End
That great god
Tell him
That we who follow you invented forgiveness
And forgive nothing

I write as though you could understand
And I could say it
One must always pretend something
Among the dying
When you have left the seas nodding on their stalks
Empty of you
Tell him that we were made
On another day

The bewilderment will diminish like an echo
Winding along your inner mountains
Unheard by us
And find its way out
Leaving behind it the future
Dead
And ours

When you will not see again
The whale calves trying the light
Consider what you will find in the black garden
And its court
The sea cows the Great Auks the gorillas
The irreplaceable hosts ranged countless
And fore-ordaining as stars
Our sacrifices

Join your word to theirs
Tell him
That it is we who are important

W.S. Merwin, 1967

Wishing peace and health to you and your loved ones.

Thank you for being on this journey.

Till next time,

Beth