For the first time, a mammal has been driven extinct by human-caused climate change. The Australian government has declared a small rodent called the Bramble Cay mosaic-tailed rat as extinct.
The rising sea level coupled with worsening storms wiped out almost all of its food supply on the small island it inhabited, a grim reminder of bleak effects of humans on the global environment.
This year, Australia’s Department of the Environment and Energy describing a call to increase its efforts to protect the country’s endangered and threatened inhabitants.
The Australian government didn’t pull punches — human-induced climate change was listed as the primary cause of death for the small rodents.
While the loss of a rodent that only lived on one small island may not be a death toll for the entire world, it’s a stark reminder of the irreversible impact human civilization is making on the planet.