Humanity approaching extinction?

By Rechell McDonald
A study published in the scientific journal Science Advances, co-authored by Paul Ehrlich, a senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, says humanity is in big trouble. In a nutshell, the research shows that extinction rates have climbed astronomically and, although the report erred on the side of caution by under-reporting its findings, it demonstrated that, currently, species are disappearing 100 times faster than the normal rate.
The ‘normal rate’ is determined by the average rate that species normally disappear between mass extinction events. It is also known as the background rate. The fundamental problem with this is that as species disappear, ecosystems change – things shift. If a predator’s source of food disappears, it has the option to die or find a new food source. This shift in the food chain dynamics could decimate prey populations even further. And, let’s not forget, man is a part of the food chain. We rely on the food chain to feed ourselves, too. If too many species disappear, we just might disappear, too.
The study calls for extreme conservation efforts that must begin immediately. The window of opportunity to stop this high rate of extinction from occurring before it really does affect us is closing quickly. The study says if we do nothing, or we delay our conservation response too long, we could see a mass extinction event that wipes man from the Earth in as little as three generations (once we hit the point of no return).
Some of the most damaging human activity that is spurring these rates ever-higher include logging, land clearing for farming, introduction of invasive species, carbon emissions, climate change altering the acidity of the oceans, and toxins that are poisoning and altering existing ecosystems.
Long story short? We need to change our behaviours and change them now. We have far exceeded the planet’s carrying capacity for our species, and our activities as a species have been damaging, historically, and our current efforts to fix our past mistakes simply aren’t good enough.
The study’s main purpose and hope is that it will be used to educate and fuel conservation efforts now and in the immediate future.