According to experts the earth has experienced massive extinction 6 times in it's history, the last time resulting in the loss of the dinosaur.  Now, the rate of species going extinct is estimated at 3 per hour, worse than at any point in time over the last 65 million years.  We could very well be witness to the seventh wave of mass extinction.  Scientists from around the world are predicting that up to 1 million species will be threatened with extinction between now and 2050.  The following statistics are taken from the IUCN Red list 2007  (number of species threatened versus number of species evaluated).

The IUCN Red List now has 41,415 species listed and 16,306 of them are threatened with extinction.  The loss of species will have a direct impact on our standard of living, food supply and will eventually threaten human existance.  The clock is ticking.