Study Indicates Another Mass Extinction

British researchers have recently released a study suggesting that the world may be undergoing another major extinction, this one caused by humans.

A detailed study of bird and butterfly populations in Britain shows a population decline of 54 to 71 percent. The authors of the study believe that this indicates that the sixth mass extinction in Earth’s history may be underway. The 40-year study links the sharp decline in native bird, butterfly, and plant species to the rise of human population and climate change. The scientists assert that the current extinction event began about 50,000 years ago with the expanding presence of human beings, and has been slower and perhaps not as severe as the other extinctions that killed over 90 percent of the life forms on Earth, including the dinosaurs. The study, headed by J. A. Thomas of the Natural Environment Research Council, appears in the March 19^th edition of the journal Science.

AP, March 18, 2004