Chapter 13 : The Thing With Feathers (Angel Jorge)

In Chapter 13 of Elizabeth Kolbert's The Sixth Extinction, Kolbert takes us to San Diego at the Institute for Conservation Research to study the future of endangered or even currently extinct animals. This facility holds the DNA of these types of animals to preserve them and prevent extinction from happening again. It gives us another perspective of Kolbert's views on humans because of how mixed her opinion can sometimes be. She makes humans seem like a destructive, ambitious, abusive species yet here makes us seem like a forward-thinking society. "Kolbert speaks with Barbara Durrant, a reproductive physiologist, about extinction and survival. Durrant tells Kolbert about a Hawaiian crow named Kinohi. As Hawaiian crows are endangered, Durrant was trying to get Kinohi to reproduce, but she had no success. It’s indicative of how seriously humans take extinction that they are willing to spend thousands of hours getting crows, rhinos, and other species to bear offspring," (bookrags.com). Kolbert continues to speak about the 'Sixth Extinction' where humans are using their destructive nature to wipe out other species and mentions how humans have two options: either continue on this destructive path or change for the better and prevent any more death and extinction from occurring in the modern world. Humans have an enormous capacity for solving problems and behaving selflessly, so perhaps it’s not inevitable that biodiversity will continue to plummet. One of the main themes of this passage is if human beings aren’t conscious of the role they play in mass-extinction, they could go extinct themselves. Thus, for their own good, as well as for the good of the planet, humans need to find ways to preserve the ecosystem. Otherwise, the world’s rising sea levels and exponentially decreasing biodiversity could have serious ramifications for the human race. This relates to the APES theme that states that human survival depends on developing practices that will achieve sustainable systems. Humans need to end their destructive ways and try to reverse some of the current damage being done to the Earth and new systems and laws should be inputted into the world governments allowing for the human race and animals and the Earth itself to have longevity. United. In some cases some of the damage humans have done is irreversible. However, it may be possible for humans to change their behavior and preserve what remains of the world’s biodiversity. Education, government, and widespread of the word to the general public are quick ways for humans to take the next step into a better future. 
Me imagining what humans coming to a truce to stop hurting animals and their environments will look like. 

Thank you, Mr. Callahan; a very informative book that opened my mind to problems that aren't selfishly biased towards humans.