Mass Extinction In Progress

Oops.

“Yet since the dawn of civilisation, humanity has caused the loss of 83% of all wild mammals and half of plants”

Losing 83% of wild mammals is bad enough, but losing half of all plants is a much larger impact because there are more of them than us (they are 82% of all the planet’s biomass), and they are the ones that produce the oxygen we breathe. So, oxygen breathers are killing off oxygen producers. Yep. Oops. While we’re at it, we’ve replaced wild plants with farmed plants, mostly mono-cultures. Food also is affecting the animal mix. We’ve also transformed the balance of animals between wild and livestock (70% of birds are poultry, 60% of mammals are mostly cows and pigs.) This is impressive for a species (us, unless you’re an alien) that is only about 0.01% of the life on the planet. As we’ve grown, we’ve transformed life, mostly ignorantly and even now without much responsive action. Can we learn and act quickly enough to keep that 0.01% from joining the 83% that are already extinct?

“Good Job Destroying Wild Plants And Animals, Humans. Only 17 Percent Left To Go!” – Mother Jones