This Week in CQ Researcher

Disappearing Species by Tom Arrandale, November 30, 2007

Does Earth face a mass extinction of plants and animals?

The polar bear may vanish as global warming melts Arctic ice. India 's tigers and Africa 's gorillas are also at severe risk, and thousands of other valuable animals, plants and insects are disappearing as tropical rain forests around the world are cut down. Now honeybees have mysteriously gone missing from American farms, while coral reefs are dwindling and deep-sea fisheries are depleted.

Many scientists fear that Earth faces an irreversible biological catastrophe even more severe than climate change, and that conservation efforts could be too late to preserve much of the planet's irreplaceable biodiversity.

• Is the mass extinction of wild species imminent?
  
• Will global warming increase species losses?
  
• Will losing species impair human well-being?

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