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The Metaphysics of Extinction

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Anthrozoology

Abstract

Most recently, our tampering has come to light in a haunting phrase, which is the title of a powerful book, The Annihilation of Nature—Human Extinction of Birds and Mammals. The authors examine a vast rash of “long-silenced songs,” “vanishing mammals,” “drivers of death,” “birds in trouble” and conclude with various solutions that can get our collective “beyond mourning.” This window on a global crisis cannot be described as hopeful, only revealing.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    By Gerardo Ceballos, Anne H. Ehrlich, and Paul R. Ehrlich, With Original Art by Ding Li Yong, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD, 2015.

  2. 2.

    Much of the forgoing material on the Ceballos, Ehrlich, and Ehrlich book was first published as a book review in MAHB, the Stanford University web-based site, Millennium Alliance for Humanity and the Biosphere, http://mahb.stanford.edu/nodal-activities/combating-the-darkness/, Accessed June 17, 2016.

  3. 3.

    “Ozone Fading Fast, Thatcher Tells World Experts,” By Malcolm W. Browne, Special to The New York Times, Published: June 28, 1990. Accessed January 15, 2016.

  4. 4.

    “Global late Quaternary megafauna extinctions linked to humans, not climate change,” Christopher Sandom, Søren Faurby, Brody Sandel, Jens-Christian Svenning Published 4 June 2014. doi:10.1098/rspb.2013.3254, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

  5. 5.

    The Annihilation of Nature, op.cit., p. 73.

  6. 6.

    ibid., p. 135.

  7. 7.

    See “In vitro puppies offer hope for rare wildlife,” by Melissa Healy, Los Angeles Times, Sunday, December 13, 2015, p. A14.

  8. 8.

    The Annihilation of Nature, op.cit., p. 69.

  9. 9.

    ibid., p. 80.

  10. 10.

    “The Global Solution to Extinction,” E. O. Wilson, The New York Times, Sunday Review, March 14, 2016, Accessed March 14, 2016.

  11. 11.

    Ch. 9 of The Annihilation.

  12. 12.

    ibid., p. 152.

  13. 13.

    ibid., p. 152.

  14. 14.

    ibid., p. 49.

  15. 15.

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    Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531-1544, 87 Stat. 884), as amended—Public Law 93-205, approved December 28, 1973.

  28. 28.

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  35. 35.

    “Wolves In, Wolves Out,” by Elizabeth Miller, SFREPORTER.COM, May 11–17, 2016, p. 9.

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    See also, “Conserving New Mexico’s Wildlife For Future Generations,” http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/conservation/wildlife-species-information/threatened-and-endangered-species/, Accessed May 18, 2016.

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    See http://www.pleistocenepark.ru/en/, Accessed March 29, 2016.

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    See M.C. Tobias and J.G. Morrison, Sanctuary: Global Oases of Innocence, A Dancing Star Foundation Book, Council Oak Books, Tulsa and San Francisco, 2008, pp. 104–111.

  39. 39.

    For the complete interview from which these two paragraphs were taken, see “A Rewilding Mandate: A Conversation with Michael Tobias,” December 18, 2015, by Dr. Marc Bekoff, Psychology Today, https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/animal-emotions/201512/rewilding-mandate-conversation-michael-tobias

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    The Annihilation, op. cit., p. 133.

  42. 42.

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    “Roger Gower: Tanzania elephant poachers shoot dead British helicopter pilot in middle of mission—A manhunt for his killer is reportedly underway,” Will Worley, 30 January 2016, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/british-pilot-shot-dead-in-tanzania-on-anti-poaching-mission-a684)4401.html. Accessed January 30, 2016.

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  48. 48.

    ibid, Simmons, Los Angeles Times.

  49. 49.

    ibid., p. 154.

  50. 50.

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    See “The Strange And Surprising Debate Over How To Help A Malnourished Kid,” by Emily Sohn, March 13, 2016, NPR, http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/03/13/469943364/the-strange-and-surprising-debate-over-how-to-help-a-malnourished-kid?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20160313

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Tobias, M.C., Morrison, J.G. (2017). The Metaphysics of Extinction. In: Anthrozoology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-45964-6_3

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