Earth is experiencing a "man-made" sixth mass extinction! Musk: Humans have to make life multi-planetary

According to the Daily Mail reported on the 17th, the earth has experienced five mass extinctions caused by natural phenomena, but a new study shows that the earth is experiencing a sixth mass extinction, and human activities are the culprits. Billionaire Elon Musk believes that an increase in species extinction rates is inevitable, but he also offers a solution — humans must multi-planetize life.

Musk Tweet Source: The Daily Mail

The "man-made" sixth mass extinction began

According to the IUCN Red List, human activity has forced the extinction of 869 species over the past 500 years.

But the study, led by Robert Cowie of the University of Hawaii, notes that the Red List of Threatened Species, which primarily includes birds and mammals, does not include all extinct species, thus underestimating the number of species that have actually disappeared from The Earth. The Red List ignores most invertebrates – a group that has suffered heavy losses.

Pictured here is an Eskimo sandpiper from Audubon, which disappeared around 1827 but was not included in the red list Source: The Daily Mail

"Combined with estimates of the true number of invertebrate extinctions, the conclusion is that this rate is much faster than known, and we may indeed be witnessing the onset of a sixth mass extinction," the study, published in the journal Biological Review, reads.

According to the study, our planet has lost between 150,000 and 260,000 of the 2 million known species (7.5% to 13%) since 1500. Scientists also predict that insects could become extinct within 100 years.

Musk: Humans have to make life multi-planetary

In response to a tweet announcing the study's release, Musk commented: "There is a 100% chance of all species going extinct due to the expansion of the sun." He also offers a solution — that humans must multi-planetize life.

Musk's tweet echoed a statement he made to Time magazine in December 2021 in which he proposed to build a "future Noah's Ark" to bring animals to Mars to prevent their extinction on Earth.

"The next thing that really matters is to build a self-sufficient city on Mars and bring the animals and creatures of The Earth there," he said. ”

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