The Great Auk Benjamin Korbert Analysis

The first idea that I would like to present is the concept of overexploitation. Kolbert first introduced this topic when she was discussing about the auk, or Pinguinus impennis. First, she explained that the auk was a large flightless bird that lived in the Northern Hemisphere. As time went on, the birds ranged from “Norway to Newfoundland and from Italy to Florida,” (58). As the chapter progresses, the emphasis was taken away from the bird and it was pointed toward the use of the bird. As the first settlers arrived in Iceland from Scandinavia, the great auks were very common as they were featured in the dinners of these immigrants. However, the popularity of the great auk’s kept increasing and different countries wanted the bird for there …show more content…
In addition, “the great auks of Funk Island were exploited in every way that humans ingenuity could devise,” partly because they had “very good and nourishing meat.” The main message that Kolbert was trying to present to her audience was that that the the great auk was a great example of how human exploitation of natural resources is a branch of extinction. I thought the idea of human exploitation was very important because it is a very important issue. We, as humans, have been exploiting natural resources since the industrial revolution in the 19th century. This constant need for resources and our careless and excessive consumption of these resources has lead to many negative consequences. Some of these consequences include: deforestation, extinction of species, oil depletion, ozone depletion, greenhouse gas increase, water pollution, etc. Nature and the resources it produces are universal. So, if you are negatively impacting it, then it is hurting everyone. This idea is so important because our careless exploitation of these resources will seriously hurt the future world, not only damaging the economy but damaging mother nature. This will impact me in many …show more content…
Kolbert talked about Global warming with great interest in chapter eight. Global warming is the increase of Earth’s average surface temperature due to effect of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuel or from deforestation, which trap heat that would otherwise escape from Earth (nmsea.org). Kolbert explained how global warming was a serious threat to species that rely on cold weather for there survival. Basically, as the average surface temperature increases, the North and South poles will melt and any living species that depend on the ice will be faced with massive pressure to either adapt to these changes or be faced with the possible ending of extinction. In addition, Kolbert talks about the other diverse regions that are affected by global warming because they have “higher latitudinal diversity gradients.” She used the work of there scientists who used measures of a species-area relationship to present the possible negative effects of global warming. The most probable reason for species extinction in the future is by the mobility of species trying to relocate to new areas as a response to the shifting climate conditions. The chapter ended with Kolbert explaining how it was very hard for scientists to understand how long ecological communities can tolerate climate change. After reading this chapter, I really understood how much global warming is impacting me. Firstly,