Species on Earth are going extinct at least 1,000 times faster than they would be without human influence, new research finds. But theres still time to save the world from this biodiversity disaster, reports Stephanie Pappas, Senior Writer for LiveScience. Between 100 and 1,000 species per million go extinct every year, according to the new analysis. Before humans came on the scene, the typical extinction rate was likely one extinction per every 10 million each year, said study researcher Stuart Pimm, a Duke University biologist. These numbers are a big increase from the previous estimates, which held that species were going extinct 100 times faster than usual, not 1,000 times faster or more, Pimm told Live Science. But despite the bad news, he said, his research is optimistic. New technology and citizen scientists are allowing conservationists to target their efforts better than ever before, he said. But for Population Matters, targeting efforts at conservation can only, at best be a stop-gap measure. It is absolutely necessary, but by no means sufficient on a planet of over 7bn humans that is forecast, by the UN, to grow to over 11bn by the end of the century. All those extra people will take up space that is currently human free & occupied by other species. populationmatters.org/issues-solutions/population/ livescience/45964-extinction-rates-1000-times-normal.html
Posted on: Fri, 30 May 2014 14:30:25 +0000
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