Scientists Condemn Human Ignorance of the possible ‘Sixth Mass Extinction

In the last couple of years, scientists have been warning that the Sixth Mass Extinction is on the way. The Sixth Mass Extinction, also called Holocene extinction, caused by human beings, leads to the destruction of most of life forms, including their own race.

"Denying the situation, accepting it without intervening, or even supporting it constitutes an abdication of humanity's shared responsibility," claims some of the prominent scientists.

There is an extinction disaster unfolding due to human activity—this is most likely the start of the Sixth Mass Extinction—and denial or apathy to this global calamity is "an abdication of moral responsibility," according to the scientists behind a new study.

"We cannot help but feel that humanity is facilitating the unfolding of a potential Sixth Mass Extinction." This evaluation, published in the journal Biological Reviews, indicates that the extraordinary rate of species extinction is evident. It was conducted by biologists at the University of Hawai'i at Mnoa and the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris. The authors refute both the claim that species extinctions caused by humans are a natural part of life on Earth and the argument that extinction rates are overblown or exaggerated.

They assert that some of the problem may stem from a reliance on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's "Red List" (IUCN). Despite the fact that the list includes over 120,000 species, it represents only 5.6 percent of the more than 2.2 million animal and plant species recognized by taxonomists.

Along with possibly underestimating extinction rates for those mentioned, the authors note that the compilation is highly skewed toward non-marine vertebrates, despite the fact that invertebrates—both on land and in the sea—make up up to 97 percent of all known animal species.

"Including invertebrates was critical in confirming that we are indeed witnessing the beginning of the Earth's Sixth Mass Extinction," said lead author Robert Cowie, a research professor at the University of Hawaii, USA.

The findings of the scientists indicate that 638 mollusk species are extinct and 380 are possibly extinct—a total of more than twice the number identified by the IUCN in its 2020 assessment.

The study concludes that 7.5 percent to 13% of about 2 million species have gone extinct in the previous 600 years, based on data on 200 land snail species. That's a total of between 150,000 and 260,000 species, since the beginning of the industrial revolution.

The researchers assert that there is no doubt that a catastrophe is brewing.

"While the Sixth Mass Extinction has not yet occurred, increased extinction rates and massive range and population decreases have already occurred, and whatever it is termed, biodiversity is changing at a faster rate than it would without anthropogenic effects," they added

The researchers continued, "This is a fact." "Denying it is simply flying in the face of the mountain of data that is fast collecting, and there is no longer any room for skepticism about whether it is indeed occurring."

The experts refute the claim that humans are simply "another species going about its business in the grand scheme of things, an argument that offers carte blanche to those who would destroy the Earth for their own short-term advantage." Humanity possesses "the ability to affect the Earth on a massive scale," they write, and bears a "moral and ethical imperative to exercise that power prudently, not capriciously."

"We cannot help but feel that humanity is facilitating the unfolding of a potential Sixth Mass Extinction," the authors lament, "and it is wishful thinking to believe that this scenario will alter significantly."

Nonetheless, the paper acknowledges that significant initiatives to at least slow the crisis are ongoing, citing mobilizations by individuals such as Extinction Rebellion and the development of protected areas as examples.

Further work is needed, the researchers say, including by biological scientists who should "spread the message that the biodiversity that makes our world so fascinating and beautiful is disappearing at an unprecedented rate" and should also collect species and their descriptions before they become extinct.

"Despite the hyperbole about the crisis's urgency, and despite the fact that corrective remedies exist and are brought to the notice of decision-makers," Cowie writes, "it is evident that political will is lacking."

"Denying the catastrophe, accepting it without responding, or even encouraging it," Cowie explained, "abdicates humanity's shared responsibility and prepares the way for Earth to continue on its sad path toward the Sixth Mass Extinction."

To tackle this problem, we need a collective decision which includes economic, ecological, moral and spiritual dimensions. Our home is burning. Can we not come together and put off the fire, when there is still time? Can we not make some collective sacrifices for the sake of our own children and grandchildren? We are capable of facing this challenge as the two encyclicals of Pope Francis implies.

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