The Sixth Mass Extinction – Climate Change May Wipe Out ⅓ of The Species We Know

The Sixth Mass Extinction – Climate Change May Wipe Out ⅓ of The Species We Know

Imagine walking through a park, listening to the chirping birds, and seeing daisies and poppies growing along the footpath. Imagine going to the zoo, and seeing all sorts of wildlife and learning about the amazing adaptations and attributes they have with respect to their ecosystems. Imagine going camping and witnessing the gorgeous rolling hills and forest surrounding you. 

Now, imagine most of it gone. How would life be like? 

Likely boring, and scientifically speaking, devastating. 

Many of our memories as children and through the years as we grow up are regarding the things we learn about our surroundings; our observations of the world. When I was younger, I can recall some of my most fond memories being associated with a family picnic in a park, with lush greenery around us or a weekend trip to the zoo. These are just some of the things that we naturally take for granted and not realize may soon disappear due to climate change. 

Climate change has been an ongoing issue for decades, yet it has only been in the last several years where we have seen its effects significantly worsen. According to CNN, the continued rise in emissions could potentially result in “approximately one in three plant, insect and animal species” facing extinction by the year 2070. This period of extinction until then has been dubbed by scientists as the Sixth Mass Extinction or the Holocene Extinction. Although much debate is still present in the scientific community regarding this period, two researchers have discovered evidence of its existence. 

Using data from recently conducted surveys, researchers Cristian Román-Palacios and John J. Wiens from the University of Arizona discovered that among the 538 species of plants and animals that they studied, 44% have already experienced extinction in certain areas around the globe; the reason for this being an increase in the maximum annual temperature, a measure used to measure climate change. 

The researchers predict that the oncoming years will lead to potentially more extinctions of species, as climate change is significantly getting worse and with summer months approaching, heatwaves could reach devastating temperatures. A potential solution to this problem is to follow the Paris Agreement, a treaty that was signed between 195 countries around the world back in 2015, and its goal is to keep global temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius. Wiens stated that they “projected a loss of 30% of the species under a more extreme warming scenario, but only 16% if we stick to the Paris Agreement.” Some loss of biodiversity is inevitable at this point, but the researchers speculate that it’ll be possible to prevent massive species loss if we take measures accordingly. However, with the U.S. withdrawing from the Paris Agreement last fall, it will be far more challenging to reach this goal and prevent further species loss than there is already underway. The best thing we can do is work together to bring a change in thought, to promote a stronger understanding of climate change, and encourage people to realize this as a reality and take action in a unified manner. 

Sources for Research:

 Kim, Allen. “Climate Change May Doom 1 in Every 3 Species of Plants and Animals in the next 50 Years.” CNN. Cable News Network, February 21, 2020. https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/21/weather/species-extinction-climate-trnd/index.html.

Image 1: (Bones) https://nypost.com/2019/05/06/1-million-species-at-risk-for-extinction-thanks-to-humans-un-report/

Image 2: (Map)  https://www.antarcticajournal.com/climate-change-extinction-on-the-rise/

Samiyah Shaikh

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