Michael Hannah, "Extinctions: Living and Dying in the Margin of Error" (Cambridge UP, 2021)

episode

New Books in Environmental Studies not yet transcribed

▲ 0

Transcript

This episode hasn't been transcribed yet Upvotes decide what gets transcribed next — 0 so far. Sign in to upvote

More from New Books in Environmental Studies

Veronica House, "Local Organic: Food Rhetorics and Community Writing for Impact" (Utah State UP, 2025) 52 min · 20 Dec 2025

All episodes from New Books in Environmental Studies →

Report any issue

Source

Recorded28 Jun 2022

Publisherfeeds.megaphone.fm

Handlerec:5383206

Show notes

Today I talked to Michael Hannah about his book Extinctions: Living and Dying in the Margin of Error (Cambridge UP, 2021). Are we now entering a mass extinction event? What can mass extinctions in Earth's history tell us about the Anthropocene? What do mass extinction events look like and how does life on Earth recover from them? The fossil record reveals periods when biodiversity exploded, and short intervals when much of life was wiped out in mass extinction events. In comparison with these ancient events, today's biotic crisis hasn't (yet) reached the level of extinction to be called a mass extinction. But we are certainly in crisis, and current parallels with ancient mass extinction events are profound and deeply worrying. Humanity's actions are applying the same sorts of pressures - on similar scales - that in the past pushed the Earth system out of equilibrium and triggered mass extinction events. Analysis of the fossil record suggests that we still have some time to avert this disaster: but we must act now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/environmental-studies

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.