"Many scientists and popular science writers say yes, using terms like "Holocene" or "Anthropocene" to describe what follows the Ordovician, Devonian, Permian, Triassic, and Cretaceous periods. Peter Brannen, the author of extinction history The Ends of the Earth has found at least one scientist who thinks the concept is "junk." But Brannen quotes some alarming statistics. Chilling, even. "Until very recently," he writes, "all vertebrate life on the planet was wildlife."
"But astoundingly, today wildlife accounts for only 3 percent of Earth's land animals; human beings, our livestock, and our pets take up the remaining 97 percent of the biomass... almost half of the Earth's land has been converted into farmland. This state of affairs does not bode well for the millions of remaining species getting edged out of their environments by agribusiness and climate change."
Many scientists and popular science writers label the current era a human-caused sixth mass extinction, using terms like Holocene or Anthropocene to situate it after major geological periods. Recent statistics show that wildlife now constitutes only about 3 percent of Earth's terrestrial animal biomass, while humans, livestock, and pets make up roughly 97 percent. Almost half of Earth's land has been converted to farmland. Agribusiness and climate change are displacing millions of remaining species from their environments. Past mass extinctions show life eventually rebounds, but recovery can take millions of years and current species may vanish before such recovery. Emotional connection to biodiversity is needed alongside intellectual understanding.
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