The World is in the Grip of the "Sixth Great Extinction" of Species

Biodiversity expert Simon Stuart - who is the Chair of the Species Survival Commission for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature-   states that humans are driving animals and plants to extinction faster than new species can evolve.

In the past 20 years, according to a study in the US journal Science today, about 70% of all butterfly species in Britain have shown signs of decline. About 28% of plant species and 54% of bird species also declined in areas studied over long periods. 

IUCN calculated in 2004 that the rate of loss had risen to 100-1,000 per millions species annually – a situation comparable to the five previous "mass extinctions" – the last of which was when the dinosaurs were wiped out about 65m years ago.

Although many more species are "discovered" every year around the world, than are recorded extinct; these "new" plants and animals are existing species found by humans for the first time, not newly evolved species.

The full TheGuardian article