On the edge of a grey world: Learnings from 'Sapiens' and 'The Sixth Extinction'

Part III

Wading out

The Sixth Extinction covers a broad area of life on the planet. It is able to give the reader valuable insight into the damage that man has inflicted on the planet. Armed with the questions that sixth extinction brings up, it would be worthwhile to pick up Harari's Sapiens and its sequel, Homo Deus. Sapiens requires much more attention, because of the sheer volume and extent of the broad questions that Harari asks, and answers. However, from the perspective of delivering facts to the reader, from studying corals at the One tree Island,  to the ant-bird-butterfly procession in the Amazon and the upward-migrating, and thinning forests of Manaus, the reach of the Sixth Extinction is greater.

Kolbert and Harari bring up immensely important questions. Should the ideas of evolution and extinction be re-examined, with the planet having been hammered into submission by man? Kolbert’s work is touched with the hope that the hard work of conservationists and scientists stirs up.  Given that shrinking habitats and ocean acidification are both major threats to the biodiversity of the planet, it would be fair to say that only major operational changes in human societies can challenge these threats. A question that I think is relevant here is, is saving the bio-diversity of the planet a mission that the people of the world are willing to greatly modify their lives for? How does an average-wage earner of the world, fighting for livelihood and opportunities for her family, afford the means to worry about biodiversity? 

There has already emerged a city in the world that will soon run out water. Thousands more are expected to follow. Even with this background, the societies of the world have not seen any major alterations in resource-consumption. There has been, contrary to what one would hope for, an increase in the need for needless purchases. In my opinion, nothing short of planet-wide extinction would force massive overhauls in the current state of affairs of the world. Perhaps even extinction, because it would be so far away, would not force major changes. (Evidently, Kolbert’s faith in humanity does not seem to have rubbed off on me)

What do we do then, to prevent planet-wide extinction? With questions that Kolbert and Harari have brought up, it is my hope that, as a society, we are able to design strategies and lifestyles to save what is left of the wildlife of the world, and perhaps, in the attempt, save ourselves too.