Sixth Mass Extinction Happening? To Include Humans?

According to scientists, the sixth great extinction is about to happen, and it might wipe human beings from the face of the planet.

The Guardian reported that a study was conducted by experts at Stanford University, the University of California, Berkeley and Princeton University, which showed that the world is certainly entering the sixth great mass extinction event, and humans are likely included in the species that's about to be lost. The study was published in the journal Science Advances on June 19.

Lead author Gerardo Ceballos, of the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, said if such occurrence is allowed to continue, it would take millions of years for life to recover and humans would probably disappear at an early stage.

The researchers of the study analyzed the most conservative extinction rates and found that the rate at which vertebrates would be lost forever was significantly higher compared to the last five mass extinctions.

Based on a natural rate of extinction, the study found that two species become extinct for every 10,000 species in every 100 years, compared to previous studies which presented a one-species rate. The modern rates of extinction were eight to 100 times higher.

"We were very surprised to see how bad it is. This is very depressing because we used the most conservative rates, and even then they are much higher than the normal extinction rate, really indicating we are having a massive loss of the species," Dr. Ceballos said.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature revealed that about 41 percent of all amphibians and 26 percent of all mammals are at risk for extinction. The last time that the planet has been losing species at such a rapid rate was during the age of the dinosaurs or 66 million years ago.

Dr. Ceballos and co-author Paul Ehrlich, of Stanford University, stated that the study indicates that the sixth great mass extinction event is at hand, and humans are behind it. Some of the causes of species loss include pollution, deforestation and climate change. Some species around the world are already considered as "walking dead", based on a Yahoo report.

The study requires quick and significant efforts to conserve species that are already at risk as well as alleviate the existing pressures on their populations. People have to be more concerned about the survival of various species by protecting their habitats specifically, instead of focusing on economic growth and exploiting natural resources.