Species extinctions are about 1,000 times more frequent now than in the 60 million years before humans came along. From 0.1 extinctions per million species per year in the pre-human era to 100 extinctions per million per year now, the human impact is clear and deadly, going by a new study that looked at normal background extinction rates. The newest estimate of species extinction is that the pre-human rate was 10 times lower than scientists had thought, which means that the current level is 10 times worse, say lead author Jurriaan de Vos, a Brown University postdoctoral researcher, senior author Stuart Pimm, a Duke University professor and their team. According to the Brown University press release, the authors decided to go beyond fossil records which only allow identification of the animal or plant's genus and not the exact species.
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