The term “sixth mass extinction/sixth extinction” is often mentioned in the news in the context of the discussion of
- (a) 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.
- (b) 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.
- (c) 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.
- (d) Mankind’s over-exploitation/misuse of natural resources, fragmentation/loss of natural habitats, destruction of ecosystems, pollution and global climate change. ✓ UPSC's answer
Why the answer is (d)
• Earth has seen five mass extinctions, the last 66 million years ago when an asteroid ended the dinosaurs.
• Scientists warn a sixth is under way, driven not by natural catastrophe but by humans: habitat loss and fragmentation, over-exploitation, pollution, invasive species and climate change — species are vanishing 100–1,000 times faster than the background rate — option (d).
• Options (a) and (c) describe agricultural concerns that are only parts of this picture; option (b) is a natural event, not the current discussion.
• Hence option (d).
Why the other options are wrong
- (a) Widespread monoculture practices in agriculture and large-scale commercial farming with…
- Monoculture is only one small part of the human drivers.
- (b) Fears of a possible collision of a meteorite with the Earth in the near future in the…
- A meteorite strike is a natural event, not the sixth extinction discussion.
- (c) Large scale cultivation of genetically modified crops in many parts of the world and…
- GM crops are not the focus of sixth-extinction discussions.
Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2018, held on 3 June 2018. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.