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13News Now Vault: The global extinction crisis decades in the making

According to a new report, one in three species of all kinds face global extinction or have been driven to extinction.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The findings are grim and worse than expected.

According to a report just published in the journal “Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment,” one in three species of all kinds face global extinction or have been driven to extinction.

It’s a number much higher than previous estimates and a cause for concern globally. The new survey compiled responses from more than 3,000 biodiversity experts around the world.

The cause of the extinction crisis probably won’t surprise you, though. Climate change, and the impact we as humans have on the environment, is catching up to us quickly.

Climate change is an issue that failed to grab our attention until the mid-1980s.

13News Now pulled a story from our archives back in 1987, when the Eastern Chicken Turtle was added to the endangered species list. Seashore State Park in Virginia Beach was one of the only places you could find them.

At the time, biologists had an inkling that humans were causing their demise, but it’s taken decades to educate the general public about the effects of burning fossil fuels and tearing down trees on plants and animals.

So, what does it mean moving forward? Continued losses likely mean our ecosystems won’t work as efficiently, which will affect our well-being as humans.

Remember, certain species help keep our air and water clean, pollinate plants for our food, and provide critical ingredients used in our medicine.

The Eastern Chicken Turtle is still around, thanks to conservation efforts taken after our report in 1987.

But its fate is still in question. The study found that the percentage of species on the verge of extinction could jump to nearly 40% by the end of the century.

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