FOSSILS ET AL.
A World Without Biodiversity: Are We Living Through the Sixth Mass Extinction?
How fossil-fueled climate change is accelerating the collapse of life on Earth
A lone polar bear, ribs protruding beneath matted fur, drifts helplessly on a shrinking iceberg. Once-vibrant coral reefs lie ghostly pale, their rich ecosystems withering into eerie silence. And in a twist that feels like nature’s desperate cry, “thought-extinct” species resurface — not as triumphant returns, but as refugees of a changing world.
These have all become symbols of what many experts warn: that we are on the brink of entering an era where extinction is becoming the rule, not the exception, with a vast number of species poised to vanish in what could reshape Earth’s biological legacy forever.
Projections show centuries of relentless warming ahead, creating an unprecedented threat to biodiversity that’s already forcing countless species to adapt, migrate, or perish — an evolutionary endgame careening toward the sixth mass extinction.
Yet, the forces of a scorching planet driving this demise remain poorly understood. Which species are most vulnerable, and why?
