Summary: Many environmentalists warn that human activity is causing a sixth mass extinction, and advocate economic stagnation or degrowth to slow or reverse the damage. But despite this, the popular idea that Earth is seeing a “sixth mass extinction” is premature. According to conservation biologist Chris D. Thomas, we will only reach mass extinction after about 10,000 years if current trends continue. As science journalist Ronald Bailey has shown, reports of mass extinction, including the UN’s, tend to assume worst-case instead of most-likely scenarios and therefore probably overestimate extinction rates. But even if “mass extinction” fears are overblown, the increased rate of species extinctions is worth taking seriously.