Nature & Environment
Sixth Mass Extinction: Two-Thirds Of The World's Wildlife Could Vanish By The End Of The Decade, WWF Says
Elaine Hannah
First Posted: Oct 28, 2016 05:30 AM EDT
The World Wildlife Fund stated that the world is in the sixth mass extinction and two-thirds of the wildlife could be gone by 2020. The wildlife all around the world is dying at a rate of two percent a year.
"This is definitely the human impact, we're in the sixth mass extinction. There's only been five before this and we're definitely in the sixth, "said Martin Taylor, a WWF conservation scientist. He further said that a reason for this is human are using so much of the planet and destroying so much of (these animals) habitat.
WWF's latest bi-annual Living Planet Index shows that there has already been a 58 percent overall decline in the population of mammals, fish, birds and reptiles all around the globe since 1970. There is also a decline in the sea creatures by 81 percent. That is a loss of four percent every year, according to CNN.
In the recent report, the researchers observed trends in 14, 152 populations of 3,706 different species such as mammals, fish and birds all around the world.The culprits behind these losses are over-exploitation of resources, habitat loss, pollution and climate change.
According to the Center for Biological Diversity, the current sixth mass extinction is caused by humans. The past mass extinctions were caused by volcanic eruptions, asteroid strikes, and natural climate shifts. In their report, about 99 percent of the endangered species are in danger of human activities, habitat loss, global warming and an introduction of exotic species.
Taylor said that governments must act to stop the slow death of the planet because it isn't just affecting wild species it's affecting humans too. He further said that this is a threat to human's future as a species, what humans doing to the planet. He also suggested to cut down on the emissions and habitat destruction. "We only have one planet if we screw it up then we're gone."
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First Posted: Oct 28, 2016 05:30 AM EDT
The World Wildlife Fund stated that the world is in the sixth mass extinction and two-thirds of the wildlife could be gone by 2020. The wildlife all around the world is dying at a rate of two percent a year.
"This is definitely the human impact, we're in the sixth mass extinction. There's only been five before this and we're definitely in the sixth, "said Martin Taylor, a WWF conservation scientist. He further said that a reason for this is human are using so much of the planet and destroying so much of (these animals) habitat.
WWF's latest bi-annual Living Planet Index shows that there has already been a 58 percent overall decline in the population of mammals, fish, birds and reptiles all around the globe since 1970. There is also a decline in the sea creatures by 81 percent. That is a loss of four percent every year, according to CNN.
In the recent report, the researchers observed trends in 14, 152 populations of 3,706 different species such as mammals, fish and birds all around the world.The culprits behind these losses are over-exploitation of resources, habitat loss, pollution and climate change.
According to the Center for Biological Diversity, the current sixth mass extinction is caused by humans. The past mass extinctions were caused by volcanic eruptions, asteroid strikes, and natural climate shifts. In their report, about 99 percent of the endangered species are in danger of human activities, habitat loss, global warming and an introduction of exotic species.
Taylor said that governments must act to stop the slow death of the planet because it isn't just affecting wild species it's affecting humans too. He further said that this is a threat to human's future as a species, what humans doing to the planet. He also suggested to cut down on the emissions and habitat destruction. "We only have one planet if we screw it up then we're gone."
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone