On this day, June 19, 2015, hefty evidence was provided by a study led by experts at Stanford University, Princeton University, and the University of California that Earth is embarking on a sixth mass extinction, with animal (species) disappearing over one hundred times faster than usual, at a rate unseen since the extinction of the dinosaurs over sixty five million years ago.

Paul Ehrlich, a biology professor at Stanford University, says that the study "shows without any significant doubt that we are now entering the sixth great mass extinction event." We, humans, are among the most likely species to be affected by this. And, we may be impacted sooner than most, as the study has been described as conservative, meaning the rate of extinction is possibly even faster than the study predicts. This was even published in the a scientific journal known as Science Advances.

Additionally, University of California paleontologist Anthony D. Barnosky, says that unless conservation efforts are intensified, we "are entering a mass extinction equivalent to what happened to the dinosaurs." Thus, we need to start as soon as possible in conserving threatened species, lessening the pressure of various populations, and preventing currently stable species from becoming endangered or extinct as well.

If we do not take action extremely soon, we are at a high chance of losing seventy five percent of Earth's species within two or three human lifetimes. Humanity may be lost as well in this scenario. We must also control human reproduction, to an extent; Barnosky also stated that if the human population stops at nine-ten billion by 2050, other species will stand a chance. However, if it shoots up to around sixteen billion, it will likely not work for keeping other species on Earth. 

Please, do not allow this to occur, no matter what. It can still be changed, and we can still potentially alleviate or prevent the major threat of mass extinction. Join the fight to prevent the Holocene extinction!