Question

Read the excerpt from E.O. Wilson’s “The Environmental Ethic.”

Species are disappearing at an accelerating rate through human action, primarily habitat destruction but also pollution and the introduction of exotic species into residual natural environments. I have said that a fifth or more of the species of plants and animals could vanish or be doomed to early extinction by the year 2020 unless better efforts are made to save them. . . . As the last forests are felled in forest strongholds like the Philippines and Ecuador, the decline of species will accelerate even more. In the world as a whole, extinction rates are already hundreds or thousands of times higher than before the coming of man. They cannot be balanced by new evolution in any period of time that has meaning for the human race.

What message does the author convey in this excerpt?
Humans need to take action to end further destruction of the natural environment.
In the coming years, humans will put forth stronger efforts to save plants and animals.
The extinction of plant and animal species is problematic in the Philippines and Ecuador.
In recent years, the extinction rate for many animal species has significantly increased.

Answer 1

Humans need to take action to end further destruction of the natural environment.

Why: Wilson cites human-caused habitat destruction and pollution, warns that a large share of species could vanish "unless better efforts are made to save them," and stresses that extinction rates are already far higher than before humans—making a call for action the central message.