Ecosystem failures suggest global extinction event.

• Author: Block, Ben
• Position: EYE ON EARTH - Brief article

Rapid releases of greenhouse gas emissions are changing habitats at a rate faster than many of the world's species can tolerate, putting the world at the brink of a mass extinction event, according to the United Nations.

"[T]he world is currently facing a sixth wave of extinctions, mainly as a result of human impacts," said Achim Steiner, executive director of the UN Environment Programme.

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Research suggests that the current extinction period may entail the highest rate of biodiversity loss in the Earth's history; it is certainly the first planet-wide extinction event due to human actions. Unlike previous events, extinctions are happening over the course of decades rather than centuries. Studies project that a quarter of the world's species may go extinct by 2050.

The UN warning...