On New Year’s Day, several scientists from Stanford University appeared on the CBS program “60 Minutes” to discuss the current global mass extinction crisis.
“Humanity is very busily sitting on a limb that we’re sawing off.”
Biologist Tony Barnosky explained that his research suggests that current extinction rates are occurring at a rate approximately 100 times faster than what is typically seen in Earth’s history. According to Barnosky, this rapid loss of species means that Earth is currently experiencing its worst mass extinction event since the dinosaurs.
Paul Ehrlich, another Stanford scientist who appeared on the show, stated that “the next few decades will be the end of the kind of civilization we’re used to.”
The researchers warned that even if humans manage to survive, the wide-reaching impacts of mass extinction, such as habitat destruction and soil infertility, would cause modern human society to crumble.
Ehrlich attributes the mass extinction crisis to “too many people, too much consumption and growth mania.”
More: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/earth-mass-extinction-60-minutes-2023-01-01/
