Extinction & Global Overview
Scientists are warning we’re in the middle of the sixth mass extinction. While these phases aren’t new for the planet, they’re usually caused by catastrophic geological events like volcanic eruptions, asteroid strikes and natural climate change. Ultimately, humans are the cause of the current biodiversity crisis due to overconsumption and overpopulation.
Extinction rates are 1000 times higher than they would be if humans weren’t around. In the last 50 years, deforestation, plastic pollution, habitat loss and hunting have forced over 800 species into extinction. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature says that a quarter of all mammals and a third of all amphibians are at risk of extinction.
The 6th Mass Extinction Has Begun
More species are becoming extinct every day. It’s almost impossible to gauge how many animal and plant species we’re currently losing, as we don’t know exactly how many there are to start with. However, estimates suggest (in a best-case scenario) we’re losing up to a dozen species a day
The low-end estimate of present species loss is between 200 and 2,000 species per year, while the high-end estimate is between 10,000 and 100,000 species. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, these extinction rates are between 1,000 and 10,000 higher than what is considered natural. Some have gone as far as calling the current loss of biodiversity “biological annihilation,” driven by poaching, habitat destruction and climate change.
Humans have evolved, grown and thrived, in nature. In fact, nature – and everything that it gives us – has been the catalyst for where we are today. Its resources have enabled people to dominate the planet complete with modern expectations, benefits and luxuries. To sustain modern human society we will continue to need the resources of nature that, throughout history, have allowed us to thrive.
The Extinction Crisis
It's frightening but true: Our planet is now in the midst of its sixth mass extinction of plants and animals — the sixth wave of extinction in the past half-billion years. We're currently experiencing the worst spate of species die-offs since the loss of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Although extinction is a natural phenomenon, it occurs at a natural “background” rate of about one to five species per year. Scientists estimate we're now losing species at 1,000 to 10,000 times the background rate, with literally dozens going extinct every day. It could be a scary future indeed, with as many as 30 to 50 percent of all species possibly heading toward extinction by mid-century
In a recent paper, researchers writing in the journal Nature analysed the most prevalent threats facing more than 8,500 threatened or near-threatened species on the IUCN Red List. They found that the key drivers of biodiversity decline remain overexploitation and agriculture. Indeed, of all the plant, amphibian, reptile, bird and mammal species that have gone extinct since AD 1500, 75% were harmed by overexploitation or agricultural activity or both.
We're entering the Earth's sixth era of extinction -- and it's the first time humans are to blame. CNN introduces you to the key species and people who are trying to prevent them from vanishing.
Previous Mass extinctions
End Ordovician, 444 million years ago, 86% of species lost.
Late Devonian, 375 million years ago, 75% of species lost
End Permian, 251 million years ago, 96% of species lost
End Triassic, 200 million years ago, 80% of species lost
End Cretaceous, 66 million years ago, 76% of all species lost
We are at the beginning of the sixth mass extinction, with limited time to avert an ecological catastrophe for biological systems and humans. The clock is ticking. This talk describes the global evidence for climate change as the cause based on our decades-long global collaboration on lizards and frogs.
The Importance of our Ecosystem
Nature is essential for human existence and good quality of life. Most of nature’s contributions to people are not fully replaceable, and some are irreplaceable. Nature plays a critical role in providing food and feed, energy, medicines and genetic resources and a variety of materials fundamental for people’s physical well-being and for maintaining culture.
For example, more than 2 billion people rely on wood fuel to meet their primary energy needs, an estimated 4 billion people rely primarily on natural medicines for their health care and some 70 per cent of drugs used for cancer are natural or are synthetic products inspired by nature. Nature, through its ecological and evolutionary processes, sustains the quality of the air, fresh water and soils on which humanity depends, distributes fresh water, regulates the climate, provides pollination and pest control and reduces the impact of natural hazards. F
or example, more than 75 per cent of global food crop types, including fruits and vegetables and some of the most important cash crops such as coffee, cocoa and almonds, rely on animal pollination. Marine and terrestrial ecosystems are the sole sinks for anthropogenic carbon emissions, with a gross sequestration of 5.6 gigatons of carbon per year (the equivalent of some 60 per cent of global anthropogenic emissions).
Nature underpins all dimensions of human health and contributes to non-material aspects of quality of life – inspiration and learning, physical and psychological experiences, and supporting identities – that are central to quality of life and cultural integrity, even if their aggregated value is difficult to quantify. Most of nature’s contributions are co-produced with people, but while anthropogenic assets – knowledge and institutions, technology infrastructure and financial capital – can enhance or partially replace some of those contributions, some are irreplaceable.
The diversity of nature maintains humanity’s ability to choose alternatives in the face of an uncertain future.
Extinction & Biodiversity
Species diversity ensures ecosystem resilience, giving ecological communities the scope they need to withstand stress. Thus while conservationists often justifiably focus their efforts on species-rich ecosystems like rainforests and coral reefs — which have a lot to lose — a comprehensive strategy for saving biodiversity must also include habitat types with fewer species, like grasslands, tundra, and polar seas — for which any loss could be irreversibly devastating.
Extinction & Trophy Hunting
Sport hunters, those who kill animals for recreation rather than out of necessity, imported more than 1.26 million trophies to the U.S. in the decade from 2005 through 2014
Latest reports show that 1.2 million animals have been killed by people in the name of trophy hunting. That breaks down to about 70,000 animals each year.
As it so happens, these animals are the most likely to pass on their genes through reproduction. Taking them out of the population for sport has a shockingly large effect on their overall survival rate.
A new report involving hundreds of scientists worldwide warns that humans are accelerating the pace of extinction for many of earth's species, and the loss of biodiversity could be devastating. Patricia Miloslavich, a professor who contributed to the report, joins CBSN with more on the problem and what needs to be done.
Extinction & Ocean
The last major marine extinction event occurred 252 million years ago, but the next may be just decades away, according to new research on past extinctions which found that the ocean’s rapid absorption of carbon dioxide could trigger another mass die-off of species by the century’s end. Most extinctions of the past have been attributed to ocean acidification, and the current extinction follows the same pattern, only this time the acidity of the ocean is increasing much faster than it has in the past. If this acidification continues it has the potential to wipe out most life in the ocean, and consequently life on land.
Extinction & Animal Welfare
Animal welfare is the well-being of nonhuman animals. The standards of "good" animal welfare vary considerably between different contexts. These standards are under constant review and are debated, created and revised by animal welfare groups, legislators and academics worldwide.
Respect for animal welfare is often based on the belief that nonhuman animals are sentient and that consideration should be given to their well-being or suffering, especially when they are under the care of humans.
These concerns can include how animals are slaughtered for food, how they are used in scientific research, how they are kept (as pets, in zoos, farms, circuses, etc.), and how human activities affect the welfare and survival of wild species.
The increasing separation of the public from production agriculture means there is often a lack of knowledge among consumers about current production practices and a perception that increased productivity and economic efficiency are necessarily associated with a decline in animal welfare.
Extinction & Landscape
Every day a vernacular landscape dies. Every day, the abusive exploitation of land is literally erasing the landscape so its occupants can no longer live from the land. This situation has provoked, among other things, the massive migration of refugees, the crisis in the quality of air and water, the downgrading of nourishment and wellbeing in general.
From the destruction of millions of acres of rainforest, to the dying see corals and so many more. On this article we will tackle all the ways natural, pristine environments are being destroyed from human activities and how catastrophic is for biodiversity but also for humans.
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Sources:
https://cosmosmagazine.com/palaeontology/big-five-extinctions
https://blog.aspinallfoundation.org/extinction-5-reasons-why-animals-urgently-need-your-help
https://www.iucnredlist.org/
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https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/humans-destroyed-83-of-wildlife-report/
https://www.worldwildlife.org/
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https://www.sciencealert.com/plants-are-going-extinct-at-least-500-times-faster-than-they-would-if-humans-weren-t-around
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