The Great Extinction Crisis

Abstract

Life evolved 3.8 billion years ago and changedEarth from a barren inhospitable rock to a planetwith incredible biodiversity. A study from theUniversity of Hawaii (1) estimates that we share Earth,and its finite resources, with 8.7 million living speciesand the countless genetic variations within each.Humans account for only .01% of living biomass (2), yetare punching far above our weight in terms of impact onthe earth systems. Human society, although dependentupon biodiversity for survival, has ushered in the 6thmass extinction of Earth’s history.