--- title: "A Mass Extinction Has Already Started, Scientists Say" description: "Mass extinction events have ravaged life on Earth at least five times over the last 450 million years or so — and we're now experiencing the sixth." date: "2022-01-20" modified: "2022-01-20" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/mass-extinction-started-scientists" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "mass extinction event" - "the digest" --- # A Mass Extinction Has Already Started, Scientists Say ![Mass extinction events have ravaged life on Earth at least five times over the last 450 million years or so — and we're now experiencing the sixth.]() *\Image: Getty Images\* ## Apocalypse Squad Mass extinction events have ravaged life on Earth at least five times over the last 450 million years or so — and according to scientists, humankind has already kicked off [the sixth](). In a [new article]() published in the journal *Biological Reviews* and [spotted by *Vice*](), an international team of researchers are warning that "the Sixth Mass Extinction has begun on land and in freshwater seems increasingly likely." "Denying it is simply flying in the face of the mountain of data that is rapidly accumulating, and there is no longer room for skepticism, wondering whether it really is happening," they added. ## Losing Life The team led by Robert Cowie, a research professor at the University of Hawaii, argues that the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species was too focused on the loss of bird and mammal species — and not focused enough on invertebrates, a much larger group. The organization's Red List, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of endangered species and their extinction risk. It has been used by [other researchers]() to argue that we are not in fact facing a sixth mass extinction event. "The IUCN information on the extinction of birds and mammals is probably quite accurate," Cowie told *Vice*. "However, they have not evaluated any but a tiny, tiny fraction of invertebrates such as insects and snails and spiders and crustaceans, which constitute 95 percent of animal diversity." It's a sobering predicament life on Earth is facing. "We don't think there's a positive ending; we think it's kind of a disaster," Cowie told the *Vice*, adding that we need to "preserve as many of these species as possible in museums" in the meantime. **READ MORE:** [Scientists Warn that Sixth Mass Extinction Has ‘Probably Started’]() \[*Vice*\] **More on extinction:** *[MIT Scientist Says We're on the Brink of a Mass Extinction Event]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()