Reply #4: Every time a species goes extinct... [View All]

...it is the end of a natural experiment that had been successful for hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of years. It is the end of a wellspring of possible evolutionary changes that could bring us any number of benefits, perhaps the cure for a disease or a healthier source of food. And it is one less chance for the process of life itself to survive a serious catastrophe, such as a radical climate shift or a nuclear winter or a meteor impact. A biosphere with ten thousand species of ants has more opportunities for ant-survival than a biosphere with five hundred or fifty or one.

A single species lost forever is a cause for some regret. A species lost due in large part to our own actions is a cause for remorse and introspection concerning our role in the web of life. Thousands of species lost in an avoidable and long-foreseen catastrophe of our own making should bring the deepest personal shame for anyone involved.