The Sixth Extinction
An Unnatural History
by Elizabeth Kolbert, Marcel Blanc · first published 2014
71% recommend29% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Pulitzer-winning popular-science account of the extinction event humans are causing now, covering topics like ocean acidification; a plain, sober, well-sourced read for anyone wanting the scope of biodiversity loss.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
From the author of Field Notes from a Catastrophe, a powerful and important work about the future of the world, blending intellectual and natural history and field reporting into a compelling account of the mass extinction unfolding before our eyes.
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The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert is required reading. We’re in the midst of a very rare event, that we caused, are making worse, and we don’t know what will ultimately happen.
on “Migratory monarch butterfly now endangered” ↗I highly recommend The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert if you like this topic. A great read that tells you about the extinction-level event that we are currently part of and, is most likely, caused by us (i.e., humans).
on “Where Have All the Ammonites Gone?” ↗I think Elizabeth Kolbert with her book "The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History" did a great job on the overall subject. "Mobile phone and Wi-Fi radiation in particular opens the calcium channels in certain cells, meaning they absorb more calcium ions." That…
on “Absorption of 5G Radiation in Brain Tissue” ↗There is a lot of skepticism and charges of exaggeration about this threat to the planet. Is it ok to make a book recommendation here? https://www.amazon.com/Sixth-Extinction-Unnatural-History/dp... : Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert. And it’s not a new book either. Many people have been warning about this and 2020 is a pivotal year for answers about our survival. Media..as…
on “Stop biodiversity loss or we could face our own extinction, warns UN” ↗There’s a book called ‘The Sixth Extinction’ By Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Kolbert which talks about this. The sixth chapter is about the rise in ocean acidity. She also details a critical acidity point (I forget the PH level but I think…
on “World Now Likely to Hit Watershed 1.5 °C Rise in Next 5 Years” ↗There is a great book on this subject called "The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History". https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17910054-the-sixth-extin...
on “US-Canada heatwave 'virtually impossible' without warming” ↗…other current life. A few books I would recommend (all in the popular non-fiction category but backed up with plenty of academic sources): - Peter Ward "Under a Green Sky" - Elizabeth Kolbert "The Sixth Extinction" - Mark Lynas "Our Final Warning: Six Degrees of Climate Emergency" (update of his earlier "Six Degrees") Ward is an academic, and Kolbert and Lynas are science journalists, but both have plentiful,…
on “Rain at the Summit of Greenland” ↗For anyone out there I highly recommend reading The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert It's a plain, almost coldhearted look at what we are doing to the planet and where this path leads. Something needs to change urgently.
on “U.S. declares more than 20 species extinct after exhaustive searches” ↗…climate change requires major changes to our economic system. "Climate Change: What Everyone Needs to Know" by Joseph Romm: This is a clear, concise primer on the key aspects of climate change. "The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History" by Elizabeth Kolbert:This Pulitzer-winning, discussing the ongoing mass extinction driven by human activity, including climate change. "Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan…
on “Is Mastodon mainly for far left?” ↗…ecosystem. > There won't be an extinction event. This also ignores the fact that we are currently in the 6th largest extinction event in the history of life on this planet [1]. Elizabeth Kolbert's The Sixth Extinction is a great book on this (and the history of our understanding of species extinction as well). So aside for being naive about the science, your comment reads a bit like claiming you don't think it will…
on “I used to not worry about climate change. Now I do [video]” ↗…Heavens The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Hidden Figures Prometheans in the Lab: Chemistry and the Making of the Modern World Fixing My Gaze: A Scientist's Journey into Seeing in Three Dimensions The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History Knocking On Heaven's Door: How Physics and Scientific Thinking Illuminate our Universe Sightlines An Ocean of Air: A Natural History of the Atmosphere Snowball Earth: The Story…
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite non-fiction books of all time?” ↗The Sixth Extinction
on “Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?” ↗This is indeed very depressing. A very excellent book about the scope of this problem is "The Sixth Extinction" [1]. One crazy anecdote from the book: the author explains how rare it should be to witness any extinction of a species within one's lifetime. The average "background" rate of extinction is something…
on “Biodiversity falls below ‘safe levels’ globally” ↗For those who haven’t done so, the Pulitzer winner “The Sixth Extinction” is well worth reading. We are on the cusp of popular culture realizing the world as we know it is coming to a close and we are probably half a century beyond the point where our ingenuity or actions…
on “Insect collapse” ↗My top reads this year: - How to Tame a Fox - great popsci history of a genetics experiment - "The Sixth Extinction" and "Not the end of the world" - compelling but contrasting takes on climate change - Through Two Doors at Once - posci history of the double slit experiment - Alvarez: Adventures of a Physicist -…
on “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” ↗