WATCH: The Sixth Extinction – This Time, We're The Asteroid

For most of human history, extinction wasn’t even a concept.

Up until the late 18th century, people assumed that if a creature no longer roamed the Earth, it simply hadn’t been found yet.

The idea that species could permanently vanish was unthinkable.

That changed in the 1790s when French naturalist Georges Cuvier studied fossilized remains and realized that they weren’t from undiscovered creatures—they were from animals that no longer existed.

This revelation shook the scientific world.

Over the next century, researchers like Charles Darwin helped popularize the idea that extinction was a natural process, one that unfolded gradually over millennia, just like evolution.

Species disappeared, but only very, very slowly.

Or so we thought.

By the 1980s, geologists began noticing evidence that extinction could happen much more suddenly—and catastrophically.

Walter Alvarez, a scientist studying rock layers, discovered something alarming: at a layer dated 66 million years ago, tiny aquatic fossils abruptly vanished.

This wasn’t a slow fade—it was a sudden wipeout.

This layer happened to match the disappearance of the dinosaurs, and Alvarez and his team uncovered the reason why: an asteroid impact that wiped out 75% of Earth’s species almost overnight.

This changed everything.

Extinction wasn’t always slow and gradual—it could be fast, violent, and world-altering.

That’s when scientists identified something even more shocking: it’s happening again.

The Five Mass Extinctions That Rewrote Life on Earth

Life on Earth has been wiped out five times before, each event resetting the evolutionary clock.

These weren’t just ordinary extinctions—each was a mass extinction, meaning at least 75% of all species vanished in a geologic instant.

Here’s a look at the “Big Five” mass extinctions:

The Ordovician-Silurian Extinction (443 million years ago): An ice age likely caused sea levels to plummet, wiping out 85% of marine life.
The Devonian Extinction (375 million years ago): A mysterious event (possibly oxygen depletion in the oceans) led to the disappearance of 75% of species.
The Permian-Triassic Extinction (252 million years ago) – “The Great Dying”: The worst extinction event in history—96% of all species were obliterated. The likely cause? Massive volcanic eruptions that poisoned the atmosphere and oceans.
The Triassic-Jurassic Extinction (201 million years ago): A sudden spike in carbon dioxide triggered climate chaos, leading to the death of 80% of species.
The Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction (66 million years ago): The asteroid that ended the dinosaurs, along with 75% of life on Earth.

Each of these events reshaped the planet, clearing the way for new species to evolve. After the dinosaurs disappeared, for example, mammals thrived—eventually leading to us.

But here’s where things take a terrifying turn.

Faster Than Any Before It

If mass extinctions are triggered by asteroids, volcanic eruptions, or climate shifts, what’s causing the one we’re living through now?

We are.

Scientists have been tracking extinction rates for decades, and the data is alarming:

Species today are disappearing 1,000 times faster than the natural rate.
Amphibians, the most vulnerable group, are vanishing up to 45,000 times faster than expected.
Nearly 1 million species are at risk of extinction in the coming decades.

This isn’t just a theory—it’s a fact backed by overwhelming evidence.

Studies of fossils, biodiversity records, and habitat loss all point to one undeniable conclusion: we are witnessing the fastest extinction event in history, and unlike previous ones, this one is entirely our fault.

Wait—Aren’t Extinctions Normal?

Yes. Extinction is a natural part of evolution.

Even in stable times, species come and go at a background extinction rate of about one species per million per year.

But what we’re seeing now isn’t normal.

The current extinction rate is unprecedented outside of asteroid impacts and global catastrophes.

Unlike past extinctions that took thousands or millions of years, species are now vanishing within a human lifetime.

Think about it this way:

The asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs hit in an instant—but it took thousands of years for all the ripple effects to play out.
We’ve only been industrialized for about 200 years, and in that short time, we’ve triggered an extinction event comparable to the worst in history.

This is not nature running its course—it’s us accelerating it at breakneck speed.

How Did We Get Here? The 5 Biggest Drivers of Extinction

Scientists have identified the key reasons why species are disappearing at such a rapid rate, and every single one is linked to human activity:

Habitat Destruction – Deforestation, urban expansion, and agriculture are wiping out entire ecosystems. 85% of all threatened species are affected by habitat loss.
Climate Change – Rising temperatures disrupt migration patterns, breeding cycles, and food sources. Coral reefs, home to 25% of marine life, are dying at an unprecedented rate due to ocean warming.
Pollution – Plastic waste, oil spills, and toxic chemicals poison ecosystems. Birds, marine life, and even mammals are dying from human-made pollutants.
Overexploitation – Overfishing, poaching, and the illegal wildlife trade are driving species to extinction faster than they can reproduce.
Invasive Species – Animals and plants introduced by humans into new environments outcompete native species, leading to biodiversity collapse.

Together, these forces are creating a perfect storm of extinction—and the effects could last millions of years.

Can We Stop It? The Future of Life on Earth

The sixth mass extinction isn’t inevitable—but stopping it requires immediate and drastic action.

Here’s what scientists say needs to happen:

Protect and restore habitats – Expanding conservation efforts and rewilding damaged ecosystems can help species recover.
Cut carbon emissions – Slowing climate change is critical to preventing ecosystem collapse.
Regulate overfishing and hunting – Enforcing stricter wildlife protections can prevent species from disappearing entirely.
Reduce pollution and waste – Addressing plastic waste, water contamination, and industrial pollution will help restore ecosystems.

But the biggest challenge?

Public awareness and political will.

Unlike an asteroid impact, the sixth extinction is happening in slow motion, making it easier to ignore.

But the clock is ticking.

We Are the Asteroid

The dinosaurs didn’t see their extinction coming.

We do.

The evidence is clear: we are in the middle of a mass extinction caused by human activity, and it’s unfolding faster than any other in history.

The question is no longer “Are we causing this?”—it’s “Will we stop it before it’s too late?”

We have a choice.

Unlike past extinctions, this one isn’t the result of volcanoes or space debris.

It’s being driven by deforestation, climate change, and overconsumption—all things we have the power to change.

If we act now, we can rewrite the ending.

But if we don’t, the story of the sixth mass extinction will be our story too.