Holocene extinction: Here's all you need to know
Do you know how dinosaurs went extinct or the woolly mammoth, or many others like them? Well, it all began less than 500 million years ago. Mother Earth has experienced five major mass extinctions since then. Scientists predict that 99 per cent of the species have become extinct in these five mass extinctions which happened mostly due to natural catastrophes.
However, the sixth mass extinction or the Holocene extinction, which is currently going on, is driven by us humans through our activities, primarily the unsustainable use of land, water and energy use, and climate change. And this time the human race is at stake. Now, that’s alarming!
A mass extinction is the phenomenon in which species vanish much faster than they are replaced. In scientific terms, this usually means losing three-fourth of the world's species in a 'short' amount of geological time (less than 2.8 million years).
The Age of Man: Sixth mass extinction
The Holocene extinction, otherwise referred to as the sixth mass extinction or Anthropocene extinction, is an ongoing extinction event of species during the present Holocene epoch. It started about ten thousand to a hundred and ten thousand years ago. What is scary is that the rate of this mass extinction is 100 to 1000 times higher than the earlier extinctions.
But what are the culprits behind this extinction? Well, it’s us, humans. Our population is increasing as a fast pace and we are posing a threat to other organisms by overhunting of animals for extracting materials like wool and leather. Moreover, our rapid urbanisation is wiping green areas, propelling climate change, and triggering pollution. These are just few of the reasons and there are many more, which we will talk about some other day.
Going at this rate, it is estimated that 30% of the species living today will be lost in the next 40 years. It will be no surprise if the humans themselves are wiped out in this extinction because of their gory activities.
The previous five mass extinctions
During the last 500 million years, there have been five mass extinction events. Here’s a bird’s eye view of them for you:
- Ordovician-Silurian mass extinction (443 million years ago)
- Late Devonian mass extinction (374 million years ago)
- Permian-Triassic mass extinction (251 million years ago)
- Triassic-Jurassic mass extinction (201 million years ago)
- Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction (66 million years ago)
The first mass extinction event is believed to be the result of severe climate change and glaciations followed by global warming. The second one, the Late Devonian extinction event, is also believed to be the result of big climatic shifts, associated oxygen in the oceans. The great Permian-Triassic mass extinction was the result of a large and long-lasting volcanic eruption and related associated events such as an increase in ocean water temperature, lack of oxygen and significant CO2 emission. The famous Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event, which wiped out dinosaurs, is believed to have happened because of an asteroid hitting the Earth.
Can we do something to slow down this process?
We have very less time to save what is left from the Holocene Extinction. If we start today we might be able to delay the extinction process by a few years but it cannot be totally curbed. We can try and save Mother Earth while adding years to our lives, by limiting our hunting activities, reducing pollution and encroachment.