Science does not know how many life forms share the planet with us. Estimates range from 10 million to over 100 million, and are especially uncertain for organims that are microscopic or live in inaccessible places. Only 1.4 million species have actually been identified. However, we do know that species are disappearing at an alarming rate, a rate a hundred to a thousand times the natural background rate of 1 to 10 species per year. Harvard University's E. O. Wilson, the "father of biodiversity," estimates the current extinction rate is 70 species per day. It is being caused by one species: humans! But why should disappearing beetles or plants concern us?
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