--- title: "Stanford Scientists Warn That Civilization as We Know It Will End in “Next Few Decades”" description: "On New Years' Day, several Stanford scientists joined CBS' Scott Pelley on \"60 Minutes\" to discuss the mass extinction crisis. No one had any good news." date: "2023-01-03" modified: "2023-01-04" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/stanford-scientists-civilization-crumble" categories: - "Climate Change" - "Environment" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "climate change" - "environmental conservation" - "mass extinction" - "sixth mass extinction" --- # Stanford Scientists Warn That Civilization as We Know It Will End in “Next Few Decades” ![On New Years' Day, several Stanford scientists joined CBS' Scott Pelley on "60 Minutes" to discuss the mass extinction crisis. No one had any good news.]() *\Image: Fokke Hassel via Getty / Futurism\* On New Year's Day, several Stanford scientists [joined *CBS**'* Scott Pelley]() on the program "60 Minutes" to discuss the [global mass extinction]() crisis. Spoiler: no one had any good news. Tony Barnosky, a Stanford biologist whose work involves using fossil records to map changes in ecosystems over time, told *CBS* that his work suggests that extinction rates today are moving at roughly 100 times the rate typically seen in Earth's four-billion-year known history of supporting life. According to Barnosky, such rapid population loss means that Earth is *currently* experiencing the worst mass extinction episode since the dinosaurs. And while Earth itself has repeatedly recovered from mass extinction events, the vast majority of the life existing on our planet at the time has not. Unfortunately, that may well include us humans — or, at least, the trappings of our technological civilization. "I and the vast majority of my colleagues think we've had it," Barnosky's Stanford colleague Paul Ehrlich, who also appeared on the show, told Pelley, "that the next few decades will be the end of the kind of civilization we're used to." That grim reality, according to the researchers, means that even if humans manage to survive in some capacity, the [wide-reaching impacts]() of mass extinction — which include habitat destruction, breakdowns in the natural food chain, soil infertility, and more — would cause modern human society to crumble. "I would say it is too much to say that we're killing the planet, because the planet's gonna be fine," said Barnosky. "What we're doing is we're killing our way of life." In other words? If humans don't drastically course-correct, the havoc we're wreaking on the planet will very unpleasantly do so for us. It's a grim warning, but one that [other experts are echoing](). Ehrlich, it's worth noting, is somewhat of an overpopulation and mass extinction icon. He published "[The Population Bomb]()," one of the first modern books on the dangers of excess human development and population growth, back in 1968, and was considered an alarmist for the controversial predictions he made at the time. Although not all of his contentious forecasts came true, two big ones — that greenhouse gases would melt polar ice, and that humanity would overwhelm the wild — have undoubtedly since materialized. And sadly, his reasoning for their realization feels depressingly familiar. According to Ehrlich, the problem is "too many people, too much consumption and growth mania" — a reality that few would likely argue is showing any meaningful sign of slowing down. "Humanity is not sustainable. To maintain our lifestyle (yours and mine, basically) for the entire planet, you'd need five more Earths," Ehrlich told his interviewer. "Not clear where they're gonna come from." "Resources that would be required, the systems that support our lives, which of course are the biodiversity that we're wiping out," the 90-year-old researcher added. "Humanity is very busily sitting on a limb that we're sawing off." **READ MORE:** *[Scientists say planet in midst of sixth mass extinction, Earth's wildlife running out of places to live]()* \[*CBS News*\] **More on mass extinction:** *[Scientists Warn of Devastating Mass Extinction Event Caused by Climate Change]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()