2Edit June 22

Derek | JUNE 21, 2015, 12:00 AM IST

Scientists at Stanford University, Princeton University and University of California have warned that earth is embarking on its sixth mass extinction with animals disappearing 100 times faster. Humans could be among the first victims, the study predicts. This is scary stuff and all fingers now point to climate change which could kill one in six of species if steps are not taken to control emissions. The last great extinction was 66 million years ago when the age on the dinosaur came to a close. The bright side of that catastrophe was that it made space for mammals to emerge and the human species to evolve. The bad news now is that we could be on our way out, if we don't mend our ways. Those unfamiliar with Charles Darwin's theory of evolution might be need a reminder that once a species disappears, it never reappears. That is a worrying prospect. The scientists who put together this doomsday study have not mentioned how long this process of mass extinction would take place, but we imaging a few million years. A billion-year long extinction process would be nice because it would give us enough time to adapt and evolve, but nature is never so kind. It's possible these doomsday scientists got it right, or are off the mark by a mile. We hope it's the latter.

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