Technically we are losing species at the sort of rate that appeared during previous mass extinctions.
I don’t have a good cite handy, but I’ve read enough on the subject over the years to say confidently that, technically, no, this is just not the case.
I don’t have a good cite handy, but I’ve read enough on the subject over the years to say confidently that, technically, no, this is just not the case.
Here are some links to numbers and graphs:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/03/2/l_032_04.html
http://www.whole-systems.org/extinctions.htmls
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=The_Sixth_Great_Extinction
The rate to extremely high and that rate will continue (probably increase) if nothing is done.