Scientists warn of a "horrifying future": mass extinction and climate chaos

17 scientists warn in a January 2021 perspective article in the journal Frontiers in Conservation Science of a "horrifying future" including a sixth mass extinction and climate chaos, if there is no significant change in human damage to natural systems. The article, based on over 150 sources, points to biodiversity loss, the climate crisis, and increasing pressure on the biosphere as key factors.

17 scientists, including Corey Bradshaw from Flinders University, Paul Ehrlich from Stanford University, and Daniel Blumstein from UCLA, published a perspective article in January 2021 in the journal Frontiers in Conservation Science warning of a "horrifying future" including a sixth mass extinction and climate chaos. The article, relying on more than 150 scientific sources, argues that biodiversity loss, the climate crisis, and the growing pressure humans exert on natural systems could lead to severe consequences if no significant change occurs. The authors emphasize a time lag between environmental destruction and the price it exacts, and warn that the scale of the threat to the biosphere is so great that even experts struggle to fully grasp it. The article also addresses population growth and consumption, and warns of increased migration due to climate change. The article has been criticized for its emphasis on population growth, but the authors have responded that they never claimed it was the sole factor.