CBS News 60 Minutes recently had a gripping segment on the current state of nature and the environment and it's not good. A mass extinction is an extinction of a large number of species in a relatively short period of time. The extinction of a species means that all individuals of that species are lost forever. There have been at least five mass extinctions in the last 500 million years of Earth's history. The worst event is termed the "Great Dying". It happened about 250 million years ago and it took out over 90% of all species on Earth! The most recent event is called the K-Pg or end Cretaceous event, which occurred about 66 million years ago, brought about the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs, ammonites, and maybe 80% of all life on Earth. Many scientists now believe the Earth is currently experiencing a sixth mass extinction, caused by human activity. This 60 Minutes report does a great job showing the evidence.
In what year will the human population grow too large for the Earth to sustain? The answer is about 1970, according to research by the World Wildlife Fund. In 1970, the planet's 3 and a half billion people were sustainable. But on this New Year's Day, the population is 8 billion. Today, wild plants and animals are running out of places to live. The scientists you're about to meet say the Earth is suffering a crisis of mass extinction on a scale unseen since the dinosaurs. We're going to show you a possible solution, but first, have a look at how humanity is already suffering from the vanishing wild.
In Washington state, the Salish Sea helped feed the world.
Dana Wilson: With this weather and the way things feel once I get out here, it's time to be fishing, that's what it feels like.
Commercial fisherman Dana Wilson supported a family on the Salish Sea's legendary wealth of salmon. He remembers propellers churning the water off blaine, washington and cranes straining for the state's 200 million dollar annual catch.
Dana Wilson: That used to be a buying station, they're gone now, they don't buy anymore. So, that building over there used to buy salmon, they don't buy salmon anymore, it's just not here.
