A group of scientists including Paul Crutzen, the Nobel Prize-winning atmospheric chemist, has somehow come to conclude that Earth has entered the Anthropocene: ‘a new phase in the history of both humankind and of the Earth, when natural forces and human forces became intertwined, so that the fate of one determines the fate of the other.’ The episode is so notable that it will sure lead our planet to suffer the sixth largest catastrophic mass extinction. The study was just recently published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
Dr Jan Zalasiewicz, co-author of the paper from the University of Leicester, said…
It is suggested that we are in the train of producing a catastrophic mass extinction to rival the five previous great losses of species and organisms in Earth’s geological past.
For the very first time in the history of our planet, a single species, i.e. humankind, is suspected for the disaster. Since we have contributed heartily to infect the planet with carbon emissions, urbanization, population growth, mining and use of fossil fuels, the culpability is well justified. Now the time has come, when we shall reap what we have been sowing for centuries altogether.
Via: Telegraph