Global Warming & Unsustainable Development= The Sixth Extinction

Global Warming & Unsustainable Development= The Sixth Extinction

Scientists have sounded the alarm for what they say is the planet's sixth mass biological extinction event. The loss and decline of different species of birds and animals due to uncontrolled urbanisation and lack of sustainable development is the reason behind the extinction. Since the 16th Century , more than 320 terrestrial vertebrates have become extinct. The remaining species are now declining on an average at 25% and the situation is especially dire for invertebrate animal life, say scientists and experts.

Previous extinctions had been driven by natural transformations in the planet or asteroid strikes that simply wiped off the animal population. What is dismal about the current extinction is that it is entirely man-made. In fact, Rudolfo Dirzo who is the professor of biology at Stanford University has designated the current era as "Anthropocene defaunation." Across vertebrates , around 16 to 33% of the species are said to be threatened on an international scale or already endangered. Large animals known as mega fauna are facing the highest decline and this includes rhinos, elephants and polar bears. These mega fauna are facing the highest rate of decline which is consistent with previous extinction events.

Scientists say the reason why larger animals have a lower population growth and less offspring is because they need large natural habitats to survive and procreate. But with industrialists securing approvals to set up mines and development projects without taking care of the "sustainable" part, natural habitats are getting destroyed on a never before scale. What is seen as development but is actually uncontrolled urbanisation and thoughtless destruction of forest cover is eventually going to wreak havoc on the flora and fauna of the earth.

The loss of mega fauna could also have a trickle down effect. If the food chain is destroyed and the natural balance is lost, what will result will be much more difficult to cope with. Human health could be adversely impacted if the natural cycles become skewed. Already global warming and climate change are taking a toll on agricultural practices. Previous studies in countries like Kenya have shown that the ecosystem reacts very badly to removal of its largest species. Consider what happens next. Rodents multiply because large animals do not attack them and the rate of soil compaction decreases. Consequently crops get attacked and humans also suffer because rodents harbour disease carrying ectoparasites.

"Where human density is high, you get high rates of defaunation, high incidence of rodents, and thus high levels of pathogens, which increases the risks of disease transmission," said Dirzo, a senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. The scientist calls it a "vicious circle". Take the numbers into account. Human population has doubled in 35 years while number of invertebrate animals has decreased by 45% . This has impacted the biodiversity of the planet in an adverse way. Loss of habitat and global climate change will take its toll on the human population as well. Unfortunately many view the warning of the scientists with less seriousness. It is to humanity's cost that the scientific Cassandras will eventually be proved correct.The equation is not so complicated to work out this time. Humanity does not need aliens to wipe them out for they are doing a good job of it on their own already.