1 million species face extinction thanks to human activity, U.N. report says

Deforestation.
(Image credit: sunlow/iStock)

The sixth mass extinction is coming.

A draft report from the United Nations obtained by Agence France-Presse says that up to 1 million species of living organisms face extinction as a result of human influence.

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The pace of species loss is reportedly already "tens to hundreds of times higher than it has been, than it has been, over the last 10 million years." Wild mammal biomass is down 82 percent, per AFP. The causes of species loss are shrinking habitats, hunting, climate change, pollution, and invasive species, all of which can be traced to human actions.

"We need to recognize that climate change and loss of nature are equally important, not just for the environment, but as development and economic issues as well," Robert Watson, chair of the U.N.-mandated body that compiled the report told AFP. He added that only "transformative change" can stop the damage. Read more at Agence France-Presse.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.