Sixth mass extinction is here, researcher declares.

Sixth mass extinction is here, researcher declares:

Ouch. It looks like we need to clean up our collective acts. With 41% of amphibians and 26% of mammals on a course for extinction if we don't change our ways.

"To history's steady drumbeat, a human population growing in numbers, per capita consumption and economic inequity has altered or destroyed natural habitats. The long list of impacts includes:

*Land clearing for farming, logging and settlement

*Introduction of invasive species

*Carbon emissions that drive climate change and ocean acidification

*Toxins that alter and poison ecosystems

Now, the specter of extinction hangs over about 41 percent of all amphibian species and 26 percent of all mammals, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which maintains an authoritative list of threatened and extinct species.

"There are examples of species all over the world that are essentially the walking dead," Ehrlich said."

'via Blog this'