The sixth mass extinction might not be that far away

The first signs the end is near?
A new mass extinction
It is happening
What is a mass extinction?
Mollusks
Animal diversity
Since 1500
It's our fault
The Anthropocene
Agriculture
The Great Acceleration
Brave new world
Bees and butterflies
Within a single generation
More than honey
The butterfly effect
Crucial for pollination
An inconvenient truth
Land and raw materials
We did start the fire
Time's running out
The first signs the end is near?

65 million years ago, the fifth mass extinction event, caused by an asteroid, resulted in the extinction of the dinosaurs. Scientists are now worried that we might be witnessing the early stages of the sixth mass extinction.

A new mass extinction

A team led by Prof. Robert Cowie, from the University of Hawaii, argues in a study published by Biological Reviews that it “seems increasingly likely” that we’re in the early stages of a new mass extinction.

It is happening

“Denying it is simply flying in the face of the mountain of data that is rapidly accumulating, and there is no longer room for skepticism, wondering whether it really is happening,” argues the study, as quoted by news website Vice.

What is a mass extinction?

A mass extinction occurs when around 70% of animal and plant life cease to exist. In other words, it’s a global catastrophe where biodiversity and the ecosystem are up for grabs.

Mollusks

Cowie’s study focuses on invertebrate animals, specifically mollusks. The team behind the study considers that the International Union for Conservation of Nature provides disproportionate attention given to vertebrates, such as birds and mammals.

Animal diversity

“The International Union for Conservation of Nature has not evaluated any but a tiny, tiny fraction of invertebrates such as insects and snails and spiders and crustaceans, which constitute 95 percent of animal diversity,” Cowie told Vice.

Image: Ed van Duijin / Unsplash

Since 1500

The study made by Cowie and his team indicates that something around 7.5% to 13% of species has disappeared since 1500, which suggests that we’re heading towards mass extinction.

Pictured: A Tasmanian tiger (Thylacine), which was declared extinct in 1936, is displayed at the Australian Museum in Sydney.

It's our fault

If we’re indeed heading towards the sixth mass extinction, it would be the first that we know of caused by the intervention of a species. In this case, humans.

The Anthropocene

In fact, the human effect on the environment is so intense that many scientists posit that we live in a new geological epoch: The Anthropocene, which began when humans started to meaningfully impact Earth’s geology and ecosystems.

Agriculture

The Anthropocene so far remains hypothetical. Some claim that it began when humans developed agriculture, 12,000-15,000 years ago.

The Great Acceleration

Other experts place The Anthropocene hand in hand with The Great Acceleration, the astounding rate of human growth and resource consumption that took off after World War 2.

Brave new world

In other words, the world in which our grandparents were born is completely different from the world we live in now.

Bees and butterflies

A good example of the incoming sixth mass extinction is the disappearance of bees and butterflies around the globe.

Image: Dmitry Grigoriev / Unsplash

Within a single generation

According to The Guardian, the bumblebee population in Europe and North America has declined over 30% in the span of a single generation, which points to mass extinction.

Image: Annie Spratt / Unsplash

More than honey

The collapse of the bumblebee population also affects humans. The bees are not only responsible for honey, but also pollinate crops such as tomatoes or berries. Without them, less food is produced.

The butterfly effect

Meanwhile, National Geographic reports that over 450 species of butterflies in the US Southwest are also disappearing.

Image: Ed van Dujin / Unsplash

Crucial for pollination

Butterflies are also crucial to pollinate many plants and flowers, affecting the food chain and the entire ecosystem.

An inconvenient truth

The main culprit for the decline of bees and butterflies is warmer environments, caused by climate change. The rising temperatures turn the previous home of these species into something inhospitable.

Land and raw materials

That's not even taking into account the inordinate use of land and raw materials, affecting or outright destroying whole ecosystems.

Pictured: The effects of deforestation in the Amazon Jungle.

We did start the fire

The damage humans have made to the planet has proven to be irreversible. The most worrying part is that, despite endless initiatives and summits with the best intentions, it continues to this day.

Time's running out

Meanwhile, time is running out to still maintain the precious balance that has enabled humanity to live for thousands of years. Once we have lost that balance, who knows what challenges will face the next generation.

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