Scientists say we are already in the midst of a sixth mass extinction on planet Earth as both animals and plants are running out of places to exist, and the breaking point was passed in 1970. Is there a solution?
Mass extinction underway
The signs have been visible for years.
The question of what year the human population would grow too large for the earth to sustain was already answered a half-century ago. According to the World Wildlife Fund, 1970 was the last year that the population–then 3.5 billion–on planet Earth was sustainable, CBS reported.
But as of New Year’s Day 2023, the current population is 8 billion. Scientists say that wild plants and animals are running out of places to live, and the earth is currently in the midst of a mass extinction on a scale not seen since the time of the dinosaurs.
A study by the World Wildlife Fund found that in the past 50 years, global wildlife populations have collapsed by some 69% due to habitat destruction, pollution, global warming, and too much consumption by too many people.
Extinction rate is 100 times faster than all of Earth’s history
According to a study of the fossil record by Stanford biologist Tony Barnosky, the rate of extinction is “extraordinarily high.”
“The data are rock solid,” Barnosky said. “I don’t think you’ll find a scientist that will say we’re not in an extinction crisis.”
The research by Barnosky suggests that, in the nearly 4-billion-year history of life, today’s rate of extinction is up to 100 times faster.
Earth has seen mass extinctions five times in history in which 75% of known species disappeared from the planet, Barnosky says.
“Now we’re witnessing what a lot of people are calling the sixth mass extinction where the same thing could happen on our watch,” Barnosky concluded.
“Humanity is not sustainable”
According to some estimates, humans have taken over 70 % of the land on the planet, as well as 70% of the freshwater.
“Humanity is not sustainable,” Paul Ehrlich, 90-year-old biologist and former Stanford University professor, and author of the famous book “The Population Bomb,” told 60 Minutes. “To maintain our lifestyle (yours and mine, basically) for the entire planet, you’d need five more Earths. Not clear where they’re gonna come from.”
Bodies of water can no longer provide food
In the most recent example, 1 billion Alaskan snow crabs vanished, with the state canceling its snow crab season for the first time in history after the crustaceans seemingly vanished from their usual dwelling spots. Scientists are blaming climate change, which they say is sending crabs and other cold-water Bering Sea species, like Pacific halibut, farther out to sea, something that has been occurring since the 1980s, the Manual reported.
However, other scientists say that overfishing and disease may be factors. Nonetheless, experts estimate that between 2018 and now, the snow crab population has declined some 90%, going from 8 billion to 1 billion.
The Salish Sea in Washington state once produced a legendary wealth of salmon that once helped feed the world. In 1991, one salmon species was endangered. But now, at least 14 salmon populations are foundering after being crowded out of rivers by habitat destruction, pollution, and warming. For local fishermen, what used to be a season is now down to a day or even a matter of hours.
