Sixth Mass Extinction
Question
The term "sixth mass extinction/sixth extinction" is often mentioned in the news in the context of the discussion of
Options
Widespread monoculture practices in agriculture and large-scale commercial farming with indiscriminate use of chemicals in many parts of the world that may result in the loss of good native ecosystems.
Fears of a possible collision of a meteorite with the Earth in the near future in the manner it happened 65 million years ago that caused the mass extinction of many species including those of dinosaurs.
Large scale cultivation of genetically modified crops in many parts of the world and promoting their cultivation in other parts of the world which may cause the disappearance of good native crop plants and the loss of food biodiversity.
Mankind's over-exploitation/misuse of natural resources, fragmentation/loss of natural habitats, destruction of ecosystems, pollution and global climate change.
Explanation
The term 'sixth mass extinction' or 'sixth extinction' refers to the current period of rapid species loss being caused by human activities, not by natural catastrophic events. The first five mass extinctions were caused by natural disasters (asteroid impacts, volcanic activity, etc.). The sixth extinction is driven by human-caused factors including habitat destruction, resource over-exploitation, pollution, climate change, and ecosystem fragmentation. Option (d) comprehensively captures all these human-driven causes. While options (a) and (c) mention some contributing factors (monoculture and GMO crops), they are too narrow and specific to be the primary context for discussing the sixth extinction. Option (b) refers to natural causes, which is not the basis of the sixth extinction discussion. The 'sixth extinction' discourse focuses on anthropogenic (human-caused) biodiversity loss. > Sixth Extinction: Anthropogenic (human-caused) species loss from habitat destruction, pollution, climate change, and resource misuse.
Question details
Year
2018
Paper
GS Paper 1
Question
Q60
Subject
Environment
Sub-topic
Biodiversity Loss and Conservation
Type
Factual single
Difficulty
Medium
Nature
Current-affairs-linked
Source hint
Current Affairs - Environmental Science 2017-2018
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