Mass die offs have been increasing each year. By "die off" I mean deaths either by unknown causes, or by known means (pine beetles, white nose syndrome, etc.) that humans are unable to fix.
Human activities destroy species in myriads of ways, both direct (over fishing, clearcut logging, oil spills, etc.) or indirect (acid rain, unusual weather, etc.).
The invasion of one 'alien' species into an area can decimate hundreds of other species, because the natives have no natural defenses against the invader.
SPECIES DECLINE
According to various sources, the time period we are currently living in is now being referred to as the "6th Great Extinction" or the "Holocene Extinction." Here are a few statistics I found on various reliable sites:
- About 200 species a day are going extinct
- Mass animal die-offs are increasing at an alarming rate
- Whole forests are dying in many places in the world
- About 1/3 of life on earth is now in danger of extinction
Here are a few videos about Species Decline:
