Editing Extinction (section)

=== Modern extinctions ===
{{Main|Holocene extinction}}
{{Further|Anthropocene|Defaunation|Deforestation}}
[[File:Decline-of-the-worlds-wild-mammals.png|thumb|upright=1.5|The changing distribution of the world's land mammals in tonnes of carbon. The [[Biomass (ecology)|biomass]] of wild land mammals has declined by 85% since the emergence of humans.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ourworldindata.org/wild-mammal-decline |title=Wild mammals have declined by 85% since the rise of humans, but there is a possible future where they flourish |last=Ritchie |first=Hannah |author1-link=Hannah Ritchie |date=April 20, 2021 |website=[[Our World in Data]] |publisher= |access-date=April 19, 2023 |quote= |archive-date=16 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230216013950/https://ourworldindata.org/wild-mammal-decline |url-status=live}}</ref>]]

According to a 1998 survey<!-- Needs updating. Survey is now 20+ years old.  --> of 400 biologists conducted by [[New York City|New York]]'s [[American Museum of Natural History]], nearly 70% believed that the Earth is currently in the early stages of a human-caused mass extinction,<ref name="AMNH">[[American Museum of Natural History]]. "[http://www.well.com/~davidu/amnh.html National Survey Reveals Biodiversity Crisis – Scientific Experts Believe We are in the Midst of the Fastest Mass Extinction in Earth's History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120410162439/http://www.well.com/~davidu/amnh.html |date=10 April 2012 }}". Retrieved September 20, 2006.</ref> known as the [[Holocene extinction]]. In that survey, the same proportion of respondents agreed with the prediction that up to 20% of all living populations could become extinct within 30 years (by 2028). A 2014 special edition of ''[[Science (journal)|Science]]'' declared there is widespread consensus on the issue of human-driven mass species extinctions.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=25 July 2014 |title=Vanishing fauna (Special issue) |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=345 |issue=6195 |pages=392–412 |doi=10.1126/science.345.6195.392 |pmid=25061199 |bibcode=2014Sci...345..392V |last=Vignieri |first=S. |doi-access=free}}</ref>  A 2020 study published in ''[[PNAS]]'' stated that the contemporary extinction crisis "may be the most serious environmental threat to the persistence of civilization, because it is irreversible."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ceballos |first1=Gerardo |last2=Ehrlich |first2=Paul R. |last3=Raven |first3=Peter H. |date=June 1, 2020 |title=Vertebrates on the brink as indicators of biological annihilation and the sixth mass extinction |journal=[[PNAS]] |volume=117 |issue=24 |pages=13596–13602 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1922686117 |pmid=32482862 |pmc=7306750 |bibcode=2020PNAS..11713596C |doi-access=free}}</ref> A 2025 study found that human activities are to blame for biodiversity loss across all species and ecosystems.<ref>{{cite news |last=Weston |first=Phoebe |date=March 26, 2025 |title=Biodiversity loss in all species and every ecosystem linked to humans – report |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/26/human-link-biodiversity-loss-species-ecosystems-climate-pollution-eawag-study-nature-aoe |location= |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=April 4, 2025}}</ref>

Biologist [[E. O. Wilson]] estimated<ref name="Wilson" /> in 2002 that if current rates of human destruction of the biosphere continue, one-half of all plant and animal species of life on earth will be extinct in 100 years.<ref name="Wilson2">{{cite interview |last=Wilson |first=E.O. |interviewer=Lisa Hymas |title="E. O. Wilson wants to know why you're not protesting in the streets" |url=http://grist.org/article/e-o-wilson-wants-to-know-why-youre-not-protesting-in-the-streets/ |date=April 30, 2012 |work=Grist |access-date=January 16, 2014 |archive-date=4 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171104234523/http://grist.org/article/e-o-wilson-wants-to-know-why-youre-not-protesting-in-the-streets/ |url-status=live}} E.O. Wilson repeats his estimation in 2012.</ref> More significantly, the current rate of global species extinctions is estimated as 100 to 1,000 times "background" rates (the average extinction rates in the [[evolution]]ary time scale of planet Earth),<ref>J.H.Lawton and R.M.May, ''Extinction rates'', [[Oxford University]] Press, Oxford, UK</ref><ref name="DeVos2014">{{cite journal |last1=De Vos |first1=Jurriaan M. |last2=Joppa |first2=Lucas N. |last3=Gittleman |first3=John L. |last4=Stephens |first4=Patrick R. |last5=Pimm |first5=Stuart L. |title=Estimating the normal background rate of species extinction: Background Rate of Extinction |journal=Conservation Biology |date=April 2015 |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=452–462 |doi=10.1111/cobi.12380 |pmid=25159086 |bibcode=2015ConBi..29..452D |s2cid=19121609 |url=https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/98443/1/Conservation_Biology_2014_early-view.pdf |access-date=30 November 2019 |archive-date=4 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181104111411/https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/98443/1/Conservation_Biology_2014_early-view.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> faster than at any other time in human history,<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Carrington D |date=February 2, 2021 |title=Economics of biodiversity review: what are the recommendations? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/02/economics-of-biodiversity-review-what-are-the-recommendations |work=[[The Guardian]] |location= |access-date=December 21, 2021 |archive-date=24 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524182314/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/02/economics-of-biodiversity-review-what-are-the-recommendations |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/957629/Dasgupta_Review_-_Headline_Messages.pdf |title=The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review Headline Messages |last=Dasgupta |first=Partha |author-link=Partha Dasgupta |date=2021 |website= |publisher=UK government |page=1 |access-date=December 21, 2021 |quote=Biodiversity is declining faster than at any time in human history. Current extinction rates, for example, are around 100 to 1,000 times higher than the baseline rate, and they are increasing. |archive-date=20 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520070152/https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/957629/Dasgupta_Review_-_Headline_Messages.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> while future rates are likely 10,000 times higher.<ref name=DeVos2014 /> However, some groups are going extinct much faster. Biologists [[Paul R. Ehrlich]] and [[Stuart Pimm]], among others, contend that human [[population growth]] and [[overconsumption]] are the main drivers of the modern extinction crisis.<ref name="Ceballos2017">{{cite journal |last1=Ceballos |first1=Gerardo |last2=Ehrlich |first2=Paul R |last3=Dirzo |first3=Rodolfo |date=23 May 2017 |title=Biological annihilation via the ongoing sixth mass extinction signaled by vertebrate population losses and declines |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|PNAS]] |doi=10.1073/pnas.1704949114 |pmc=5544311 |pmid=28696295 |volume=114 |issue=30 |pages=E6089–E6096 |bibcode=2017PNAS..114E6089C |quote=Much less frequently mentioned are, however, the ultimate drivers of those immediate causes of biotic destruction, namely, human overpopulation and continued population growth, and overconsumption, especially by the rich. These drivers, all of which trace to the fiction that perpetual growth can occur on a finite planet, are themselves increasing rapidly. |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pimm |first1=S. L. |last2=Jenkins |first2=C. N. |last3=Abell |first3=R. |last4=Brooks |first4=T. M. |last5=Gittleman |first5=J. L. |last6=Joppa |first6=L. N. |last7=Raven |first7=P. H. |last8=Roberts |first8=C. M. |last9=Sexton |first9=J. O. |title=The biodiversity of species and their rates of extinction, distribution, and protection |journal=Science |date=30 May 2014 |volume=344 |issue=6187 |pages=1246752 |doi=10.1126/science.1246752 |pmid=24876501 |s2cid=206552746}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/12/world/sutter-vanishing-help/ |title=How to stop the sixth mass extinction |first=John D. |last=Sutter |date=December 12, 2016 |work=CNN |access-date=January 3, 2017 |archive-date=13 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161213131234/http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/12/world/sutter-vanishing-help/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Graham |first=Chris |date=July 11, 2017 |title=Earth undergoing sixth 'mass extinction' as humans spur 'biological annihilation' of wildlife |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/07/11/earth-undergoing-sixth-mass-extinction-humans-spur-biological/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/07/11/earth-undergoing-sixth-mass-extinction-humans-spur-biological/ |archive-date=2022-01-11 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=The Telegraph |access-date=July 23, 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

In January 2020, the UN's [[Convention on Biological Diversity]] drafted a plan to mitigate the contemporary extinction crisis by establishing a deadline of 2030 to protect 30% of the Earth's land and oceans and reduce pollution by 50%, with the goal of allowing for the restoration of ecosystems by 2050.<ref>{{cite news |last=Greenfield |first=Patrick |date=January 13, 2020 |title=UN draft plan sets 2030 target to avert Earth's sixth mass extinction |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/13/un-draft-plan-sets-2030-target-to-avert-earths-sixth-mass-extinction-aoe |work=The Guardian |access-date=January 14, 2020 |archive-date=24 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224095816/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/13/un-draft-plan-sets-2030-target-to-avert-earths-sixth-mass-extinction-aoe |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Yeung |first=Jessie |date=January 14, 2020 |title=We have 10 years to save Earth's biodiversity as mass extinction caused by humans takes hold, UN warns |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/14/world/un-biodiversity-draft-plan-intl-hnk-scli-scn/index.html |work=CNN |access-date=January 14, 2020 |archive-date=15 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210215051020/https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/14/world/un-biodiversity-draft-plan-intl-hnk-scli-scn/index.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The 2020 [[United Nations]]' ''Global Biodiversity Outlook'' report stated that of the 20 biodiversity goals laid out by the Aichi Biodiversity Targets in 2010, only 6 were "partially achieved" by the deadline of 2020.<ref>{{cite news |last=Cohen |first=Li |date=September 15, 2020 |title=More than 150 countries made a plan to preserve biodiversity a decade ago. A new report says they mostly failed. |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/more-than-150-countries-made-a-plan-to-save-the-worlds-species-and-ecosystems-a-decade-ago-a-new-report-says-they-mostly-failed/ |work=[[CBS News]] |access-date=September 23, 2020 |archive-date=15 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515192230/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/more-than-150-countries-made-a-plan-to-save-the-worlds-species-and-ecosystems-a-decade-ago-a-new-report-says-they-mostly-failed/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The report warned that biodiversity will continue to decline if the status quo is not changed, in particular the "currently unsustainable patterns of production and consumption, population growth and technological developments".<ref>{{cite news |last=Yeung |first=Jessie |date=September 16, 2020 |title=The world set a 2020 deadline to save nature but not a single target was met, UN report says |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/16/world/un-biodiversity-report-intl-hnk-scli-scn/ |work=[[CNN]] |access-date=September 23, 2020 |archive-date=15 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515192230/https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/16/world/un-biodiversity-report-intl-hnk-scli-scn/ |url-status=live}}</ref> In a 2021 report published in the journal ''Frontiers in Conservation Science'', some top scientists asserted that even if the Aichi Biodiversity Targets set for 2020 had been achieved, it would not have resulted in a significant mitigation of biodiversity loss. They added that failure of the global community to reach these targets is hardly surprising given that biodiversity loss is "nowhere close to the top of any country's priorities, trailing far behind other concerns such as employment, healthcare, economic growth, or currency stability."<ref>{{cite news |last=Weston |first=Phoebe |date=January 13, 2021 |title=Top scientists warn of 'ghastly future of mass extinction' and climate disruption |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/13/top-scientists-warn-of-ghastly-future-of-mass-extinction-and-climate-disruption-aoe |work=[[The Guardian]] |location= |access-date=January 19, 2021 |archive-date=13 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113050606/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/13/top-scientists-warn-of-ghastly-future-of-mass-extinction-and-climate-disruption-aoe |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bradshaw |first1=Corey J. A. |last2=Ehrlich |first2=Paul R. |last3=Beattie |first3=Andrew |last4=Ceballos |first4=Gerardo |last5=Crist |first5=Eileen |last6=Diamond |first6=Joan |last7=Dirzo |first7=Rodolfo |last8=Ehrlich |first8=Anne H. |last9=Harte |first9=John |last10=Harte |first10=Mary Ellen |last11=Pyke |first11=Graham |last12=Raven |first12=Peter H. |last13=Ripple |first13=William J. |last14=Saltré |first14=Frédérik |last15=Turnbull |first15=Christine |last16=Wackernagel |first16=Mathis |last17=Blumstein |first17=Daniel T. |date=2021 |title=Underestimating the Challenges of Avoiding a Ghastly Future |journal=Frontiers in Conservation Science |volume=1 |issue= |pages= |doi=10.3389/fcosc.2020.615419 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2021FrCS....1.5419B}}</ref>