14 DAY TRIAL // In a new study in the journal Science Advances, a team of researchers show that we are now on the verge of yet another mass extinction, the sixth in our planet's history.
What this means is that species are vanishing at an alarming rate and that Earth's biodiversity is about to plummet. Some might think that this is of no concern to us. Surely the human race is advanced enough to make it through.
The thing is that this is not the case. On the contrary, specialists warn that, with ecosystems collapsing on a global scale, there is no way we humans will escape unscathed.
“If it is allowed to continue, life would take many millions of years to recover, and our species itself would likely disappear early on,” said scientist Gerardo Ceballos of the Universidad Autónoma de México in a statement.
This one is on us
Admittedly, species go extinct all the time. During a mass extinction event, however, this happens at a freakishly rapid pace, specialists explain in the journal Science Advances.
Having looked at the current global extinction rate, researchers found it to be up to 100 times greater than what is considered normal. Thus, our planet is losing its biodiversity at a rate unparalleled since the demise of the dinosaurs over 60 million years ago.
“The investigation shows without any significant doubt that we are now entering the sixth great mass extinction event,” said Stanford University study co-author Paul Ehrlich.
Unlike the mass extinction that wiped out dinosaurs, however, this latest one that is now upon us is not nature-made, so to speak. Rather, it is the result of man-made climate change and global warming, environmental pollution, and massive deforestation.
Plainly put, we have nobody but ourselves to blame for the staggering biodiversity loss happening in this day and age. Not exactly something to take pride in, is it?
There is still some hope
It might be that our planet is now on the verge of one more mass extinction, but on a somewhat lighter note, it appears that there is still some hope that this could be avoided.
Thus, researchers say that this event can be prevented if we get our act together and start taking better care of the planet. Limiting climate change and global warming, greening up our ways, and safeguarding natural ecosystems are key to avoiding another mass extinction that could be the end of us.
