The Anthropocene: Age of Genocide

The good news is: we have experienced it before – and survived. Not us as humanity, but us as planet earth. Indeed our planet has been through mass extinctions of flora and fauna before. 

The bad news, however, is: for the upcoming mass extinction we, humans, are entirely at fault. 

In fact, human activity is the driving factor behind 99% of species currently at risk of extinction: habitat loss, the introduction of exotic species, global warming and toxic waste are all at play here. 

We are facing the sixth mass extinction of species on our planet, and as it stands, hardly anyone is aware of its scale or phenomenon at all.

So, what exactly is a mass extinction?

The scientific definition of the term is that in a geologically short period of time, at least 75% of all animal and plant species die out. In the history of the earth, this has occurred five times so far:

The first mass extinction

At the End-Ordovician age, 443 million years ago, a severe ice age caused sea levels to drop by approximately 100 meters, wiping out up to 86% of all species – at that time this consisted of predominantly ocean dwellers. After the ice melted once again, the species existing at the time died from the shortage of oxygen in the oceans.

The second mass extinction

In the Late-Devonian age, 360 million years ago, earth suffered a prolonged climate change event, hitting life in shallow seas again, killing about 75% of species, including almost all corals.

The third mass extinction

During the Permian-Triassic age, 250 million years ago, the third mass extinction, namely 'the big one' affected more than 96% of all species, including trilobites and giant insects. It was linked to large-scale volcanic eruptions in Siberia, causing a savage period of global warming.

The fourth mass extinction 

In the Triassic-Jurassic age, 200 million years ago, 80% of species were lost, again most likely due to another large volcanic outburst, leaving earth clear for dinosaurs to flourish.

The fifth mass extinction 

And in the Cretaceous-Tertiary age, 65 million years ago, 76% of the species disappeared after a giant asteroid impacted the land we now know as Mexico, following large volcanic eruptions around India, which led to the end of the dinosaurs, resulting in ammonites, mammals – and eventually humans – taking advantage and thrive.

The sixth mass extinction

It is said that there is a sixth mass extinction already underway – or on the brink of beginning. (The question, whether it has already started or will start shortly is at the centre of serious discussions among scientists.)

Disputes regarding the timeline of the sixth mass extinction are abundant, but as for its cause, there is widespread agreement. Volcanism, ice ages and climatic changes, lack of oxygen, the impact of asteroids, or – most likely, a concoction of them all – was to blame in the past, but it is mankind that is to blame for what will come next.

Why are we responsible?

Mankind with its overindulgent attitude: rising populations, high consumption, infrastructure dominance is dangerously restricting the habitat land and resources for other species. It is the responsibility of human beings, as the current dominant species, to ensure the fate of all living beings on our planet. This is the geological era of the Anthropocene (deriving from the ancient Greek word 'Anthropos' which means 'man').

We have reversed our role on planet earth by 180 degrees: in the beginning of mankind, tens of thousands of years ago, animals were both feared of and worshipped. Animals were portrayed as can be seen in the Chauvet Cave. Back then, nature dominated us. Today, we push nature to its boundaries for our own convenience and profit; we domesticise the wild, we – if at all – tolerate its existence.

We dominate the world and its wilderness; we treat nature and animals as our property – not as creatures that cohabitate our planet.

As the human population grows, our infrastructure and consumption need to expand alongside, nature and the animals living within it are forced to exist for our catering and supply. We breed them, farm them, kill them in industrial scale, we sacrifice them for our beliefs, and we enclose them in wildlife conservations if the mood strikes compassion. 

"Today, wild animals have become refugees on our planet, they will soon have nowhere left to go."

From the documentary "Terra" by Yann Arthus-Bertrand and Michael Pitiot. A Rhinoceros being relocated to a safe area as being seen in the documentary.

We are disrupting a process that has taken billions of years to evolve. Unlike past mass extinctions, the speed at which species are disappearing from the terrain plays a crucial role.

In the first four extinctions, death came over a period of 20,000-100,000 years, which in geological terms is just a wink of time. For longterm condition changes like those nature seems to be able to adapt through mutations or migrations. 

In the case of the asteroid, on the other hand, disaster came overnight, so to speak. Animals that survived the direct impact only had a period of a few weeks or months left. As vegetation was erased on the darkening earth, the large herbivores were left with no food to survive, leaving large carnivores without prey. The delicate food chain finally collapsed.

Although today's situation is far less dramatic in terms of natural disasters, with mankind spreading around the globe, sealing soil, polluting air and water, claiming natural habitat for cultivation food shortage is a crucial factor. But is the current situation really comparable to the previous five mass extinctions?  

Humans claiming almost earth's entire habitat