Not only is Earth in the middle of its next mass extinction event, but it may be too late to undo the harm inflicted upon the planet’s species. This is according to a new study assessing evidence of what it calls an “ongoing extinction event.”
The study was published in Biological Reviews, and conducted by biologists from the University of Hawaii and the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris. While researchers say that conservation initiatives have been put in place to combat the crisis and protect certain species, the study suggests that the damage has already been done.
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Researchers estimate that since the year 1500, as many as 7.5 to 13% of Earth’s two million known species have already gone extinct. That translates to between 150,000 and 260,000 species. These numbers were extrapolated from estimates obtained for land snails and slugs.
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