Essay Questions

Is the relationship between man and the environment a healthy one?

Kolbert's work, 'The Sixth Extension,' emphasizes how man relates to his environment. Unfortunately, Kolbert's postulations reveal that the relations between man and the environment are on the verge of death. Human thinking, behavior, and actions have put the environment on the great brink of extinction. Before the intrusion of man, the world had beautiful scenery of trees, forest cover, and animals of all kinds. However, man came up with technologies that fueled industrialization and introduced chemicals that destroy the ozone layer, putting man, animals, and plants in great danger. Therefore, Kolbert concludes that the relationship between man and the environment is unfavorable.

What is making modern leaders realize that the world is about to come into extinction?

Kolbert explains that hundreds of years ago, people could not believe that one day the world will come to extinction because they thought those were the scientists' assumptions. However, the reality is hitting the contemporary world so hard and forced the global leaders to come together and strategize on saving the environment from extinction. There is evidence that many animals and vegetation will continue to become extinct with current human behavior. For instance, Kolbert uses Panama as the host of thousands of golden frogs, which currently has less than a hundred of them due to environmental pollution and other unfavorable conditions fueled by human behavior.

What is the emblematic implication of the golden frogs as used by the author?

The golden frogs are used figuratively by the author to signify the possibility of human extinction if the current human behavior does not change. Human beings are recklessly cutting trees and destroying forests that are the source of rainwater. Ironically, human beings are becoming senseless to the extent that they fail to remember that water is the source of life. The continuous destruction of the forest cover will result in massive droughts resulting in human death and animals' extinction. Similarly, the emission of harmful gases to the atmosphere from the industries will speed up the human end. Kolbert illustrates that there were thousands of golden frogs, but they are now less than a hundred, and, in a few years, there will be none. Therefore, if man is not careful, his fate will be similar to that of the golden frogs.