Cassandra Cappello 1

Annotated Bibliography

Are Humans Causing the Sixth Mass Extinction?

Cassandra Cappello
Professor Malcolm Campbell
UWRT 1103
October 20, 2016

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Block, Melissa, and Elizabeth Kolbert. "The Earth's 'Sixth Extinction' May Be One Of Our Own
Making." NPR. NPR, 11 Feb. 2014. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
This transcript of an interview done through NPR. The interview focuses on the writer,
Elizabeth Kolbert, who had recently written a book exploring human effects, mainly
deforestation and carbon emissions on biodiversity. Kolberts travels allowed her to
assemble information that pointed to the grim reality the humans are impacting the
environment in a major, and harmful way. The authors awareness of species
endangerment and CO2 emissions on oceanic health shows the broad scope of the
detrimental human impact on organisms, and the statistics that she provides make the
situation feel like a dire emergency. The Red List from the International Union for
Conservation of Nature stands as a large source of her statistical information about
endangered species, meaning that she has chosen a reliable source to support her claims.
Kolbert has extensively studied the Amazon Rainforests deforestation, the extinction of
tree frogs in Panama, and the decline of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Her
involvement in the studies themselves aids in her credibility as a writer, the initiative that
she took in order to assemble accurate information for her book makes her a believable
source. Since this interview occurred on NPR, a source that is more commonly nonobjective, her discussion of habitat loss and species endangerment seems more based on
knowledge than speculation. The specific information given by Kolbert after her
experiences in field study will be incredibly useful in assembling professional support for
the claims given in my EIP.
McGregor, Reid Gordon, and Kevin C. Zippel. "Can Zoos and Aquariums Ensure the Survival of
Amphibians in the 21st Century?" International Zoo Yearbook. 42.1 (2008): 1-6. Web.

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Gordon McGregor, prior to his retirement, was the Director General of the Chester Zoo in
England, a zoo that has received various awards for its commitment to conservation. The
other author, Kevin Zippel, was closely acquainted through Amphibian Ark, and it is
evident that their connection led to the creation of this article. McGregor and Zippel
evaluate the real benefits and caveats involved in the preservation of various animals.
They consider the zoos ability to actually hold, protect, and help save endangered
species, and recognize that the problem requires a larger and more complex solution than
one would hope. The authors acknowledge that the combined support of governments,
museums, universities and botanical gardens could gather the resources necessary to take
on the issue of species endangerment. The authors also discuss the practical realities of
conservation, pointing out that most zoos cannot stand to contain large mammals just
because of the space that they occupy, but smaller animals, like amphibians, can be held
in large quantities because they do not have many space requirements. Also, McGregor
and Zippel seem to be aware that the animals that are held and bred in zoos must
represent their population genetically, which is a way to avoid the genetic drift that could
eventually occur and dramatically affect the species. McGregor and Zippel, even with the
practical issues, seem to find hope in conservation. The statistic that 25% of wild
Mallorcan midwife toads are from captive breeding in zoos shows that there is a clear
benefit in rehabilitating species. These two authors long-time standing as heavily
involved researchers in conservation shows that they hold a knowledgeable stance on
how species can be helped in this desperate time. The credibility of these authors is also
emphasized because this is a scholarly, peer-reviewed article that was published in the
International Zoo Yearbook. Also, the many studies and articles referenced shows that

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there was a keen focus on accuracy in the piece. This article has greatly helped in making
me consider the practical solutions and ways to take the initiative to save endangered
species that are on the brink of extinction.
"Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 27
Sept. 2016. <https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions>.
This webpage from the EPA analyzes the multiple causes of greenhouse gas emissions,
and their amounts in terms of percentage of total emissions. The page breaks the causes into
separate widgets, exploring industry, agriculture, electricity, and more. Each hyperlink provided
in the page conveniently directs the reader to the related sub-section, allowing for an organized
and informative source. The EPA states that humans have been almost solely responsible for the
increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere in the last 150 years, and they seem to support
their claims quite well with citations from other governmental organizations committed to an
understanding of greenhouse emissions. The author introduces graphs to model the steady
increase of greenhouse gases within the last 20 years alongside a chart that shows the total U.S.
greenhouse gas emissions divided into their most common sources. Graphs, charts, and actual
statistics make this webpage an incredibly useful citation for the Extended Inquiry Project. Since
the EPA is an organization with a known focus on the United States environmental impact on the
planet, it will serve as a trustworthy point of reference, and the statistics can be expected to be
fairly accurate. The information in this webpage will prove useful in composing the overall
argument of my EIP because it easily breaks information into topics that are important to discuss
when considering the human impact upon the planet, like the actual emissions from our lightly
regulated activities.

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"The Extinction Crisis." The Extinction Crisis. Center for Biological Diversity, n.d. Web. 25
Sept. 2016.
This page from the Center for Biological Diversity attempts to evaluate the extinction
issue by each class of animals and organisms affected. In its introduction, the page includes a
number of statistics that outline the broad scope of human environmental degradation. Using the
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as a primary resource, the Center for
Biological Diversity claims that 30-50 of all species could be extinct by 2050. With this, the
essay opens into the specific amount of species lost in each class such as amphibians, birds,
mammals, plants, reptiles and more. There is a startling reality to each statistic, like the fact that
700 species of freshwater fish in the United States are endangered, or that about 50 percent of all
primate species are on the brink of extinction. The claims made by the Center for Biological
Diversity, while surprising, seem to hold truth after further exploration into the citations made.
Since the CBD relies mainly on the IUCN and other scientific journals, their information can be
expected to be at a certain level of accuracy. Along with this, the CBDs standing as a non-profit
organization makes their statements more reliable because this shows a commitment to the actual
betterment of the earths habitats rather than corporate interest. This source seems to be strongly
connected to the previous NPR article, The Earth's 'Sixth Extinction' May Be One Of Our Own
Making," because they both depend on the statistics given by the IUCN. Their frequent
references to this organization means that they refer to the proper authority in the field. This
citation will be a great reference in my Extended Inquiry Project because it holds a large amount
of information and statistics that would strengthen any arguments that I would provide in my
research.