Are we headed towards the 6th extinction?
Five mass extinctions caused by volcanism, meteorite impacts, and climate changes have already occurred (Jablonski 14) in the globe. With this information, scientists have predicted that the beginning of a sixth extinction. A balance of probabilities shows that humankind will be the cause of the 6th extinction because of its engagement in illegal wildlife trade. This type of business poses a threat to particular animal species that have survived degradation and loss of their natural habitat. These endangered species are now becoming essential commodities in the worldwide economy and traded for various purposes (Van Uhm 22). Some animal parts have medicinal value. Others, such as elephant trunks and rhino horns, are sold due to their amount in the market. Animal skins can be used to make clothing, shoes and other products such as jewellery. The complexity of the present reduction of biodiversity and the impact of distorting plant habitats is illustrated by analyzing the ecological interaction between plants and animals. Humanity has made the exploitation of natural resources part of its political, economic, and social activities. With that in mind, this exploitation is one of the main reasons that the 6th extinction is going to occur.
Over the years, there has been a consistent reduction of these natural resources. The planets overexploitation has led to changes in the biosphere and the atmosphere. Additionally, tropical and temperate forests are being cleared at the rate of one acre per second to create room for human settlement (Van Uhm 25). Deforestation and habitat degradation have hazardous effects on nature. It has been observed that deforestation leads to the release of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. Also, it causes the extinction and extirpation of animal species that live in deforested areas. The tropical rainforests, in particular, have the largest biodiverse ecosystems. Tropical rainforests contain more than two-thirds of all living species in the world (Van Uhm 28). Conservationists and part of the general public view this extinction as a considerable loss that requires mitigation.
The sixth mass extinction can be thought of in three common and feasible ways. First, it is seen as a mistake where valuable resources are wasted (Cafaro, 390). The continued loss of biodiversity has implicated the current and future well-being of humans. Ecosystem services, such as food provision, fibre, medicine, crop pollination, filtration of pollutants, freshwater provision, protection from natural disasters, and air cleansing by trees, are indisputably threatened by the changes in biodiversity. Additionally, the variations in the abundance and distribution of species have affected humankind, especially in cultural services. Viewing the sixth mass extinction as a mistake focuses entirely on human needs and wants. A failure to satisfy them is regarded as a loss, but this seems irrational because it is human beings that are the leading cause of loss of biodiversity, in an attempt to fulfil their wants.
Secondly, mass extinction can be thought of as a crime that involves the interspecies genocide. The cessation of the existence of specific species is described as interspecies genocide. The act is immoral and unjust towards other species (Cafaro 392). The term ‘genocide’ is appropriate in this context because the extermination of species occurs due to conscious human actions. For example, in his book, Craig Stanford suggests there are massive campaigns that advocate for the extinction against great apes. He says, ‘this practice would be called by its rightful name: genocide’ (Stanford). Through practices such as habitat degradation, overexploitation of natural resources, and other measures taken for humankind’s unending expansion, we are deliberately violating the right of most animal species to exist. The primary cause of species extinction is economical and demographic growth among humankind. The influx of human population has shrunk of wild environments, reduced animal and plant numbers, spread bio-homogeneity, and exterminated many other species.
The third thought of mass extinction is as an inevitable event (Cafaro 391). Humanity will always exist in the biosphere. Physical beings can co-exist with animal species, hence prevent interspecies genocide. Every species has a right to the continued existence and have the resources necessary for growth. Human growth can be rapid and uncontrolled, thus leading to foreseen and unforeseen ecological impacts. This growth has negatively affected the health and integrity of the world’s ecosystem. Human presence has pushed technological ingenuity beyond the environmental constraints and made it difficult to limit this growth. Human growth in the biosphere is compared to cancer since it is rapid, uncontrolled, and sometimes harmful (Cafaro 393). The human invasion also disrupts and distracts the lives of species living in the area.
Conclusion
6th extinction is a combination of three thoughts. As mentioned earlier, this extinction can be viewed as wastage of human resources. However, explaining it in this manner ignores what is morally right for anthropogenic species extinguishing, and the injustice human beings exercise when unnecessarily exterminating other species. Additionally, humans can prevent mass extinction, but failure to do so is translated as interspecies genocide. Even so, mass extinction is unavoidable because of humans who think that stopping the genocide would limit their growth. Are we heading towards a sixth extinction? The answer is yes. This extinction is inevitable, and future generations will not be proud of the results. Still, there are measures recommended by conservative biologists necessary to prevent the 6th extinction, but they are rarely advocated.
References
Cafaro, Philip. “Three ways to think about the sixth mass extinction.” Biological Conservation 192 (2015): 387-393.
Jablonski, David. “Extinctions in the fossil record.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences 344.1307 (1994): 11-17.
Stanford, Craig B. Planet without apes. Harvard University Press, Cambridge 2012.
Van Uhm, Daan P. “The Sixth Mass Extinction.” The Illegal Wildlife Trade. Springer, Cham, 2016. 17-32.