ABSTRACT
In June 2015, The Guardian ran this headline: "Humans creating sixth great extinction of animal species, say scientists". The paper was reporting on a study which argued that the rate of extinction for species in the twentieth century has been up to 100 times higher than it would have been without human impact. Estimates of the number of separate species on Earth vary, but around 10 million seems near the mark. Some argue that the natural rate at which species extinction occurs is two species per 10,000 in every 100 years. The species are said to play a critical role in maintaining the integrity and quality of an ecosystem. But "no" for species at the end of an evolutionary cul-de-sac, such as the giant panda. There is usually some relativism in all such arguments, as, although there's a clear moral argument against human-induced species loss, not everyone would extend this to the smallpox or Ebola viruses.
