A
Stanford University research team and other scientists have announced
that the Earth is now officially entering its sixth mass extinction.
This means that more than five percent of all species on Earth have
disappeared, and that it will take more than millions of years for
other species to reproduce enough to recover the loss of the extinct
species. What makes this news even worse is that unlike the previous
five mass extinctions, all of which were caused by either survival
of the fittest or natural disasters, this time the extinction is
solely due to human activities.
Researchers compared the extinction rate during the past 100 years
to what they call the background extinction rate, or the rate at
which animals normally die out due to natural causes. They found
that animals are now disappearing 114 times faster than before.
According to their findings, the major causes of the current situation
are: Land clearing for farming and settlement; carbon emissions;
toxins that affect ecosystems; and the introduction of invasive
species. “If the currently elevated extinction pace is allowed
to continue, humans will soon be deprived of many biodiversity benefits,”
said Stanford researcher Paul Ehrlich.
A
Stanford University research team and other scientists have announced
that the Earth is now officially entering its sixth mass extinction.
This means that more than five percent of all species on Earth have
disappeared, and that it will take more than millions of years for
other species to reproduce enough to recover the loss of the extinct
species. What makes this news even worse is that unlike the previous
five mass extinctions, all of which were caused by either survival
of the fittest or natural disasters, this time the extinction is
solely due to human activities.