Sixth Mass Extinction: The Sixth Mass extinction also known as the Holocene extinction is the name given to the ongoing extinction of plant and animal species that has taken place since 10,000 BCE. This includes the disappearance of large land animals known as megafuana, starting 9,000 years ago at the end of the last Ice Age and ending with us, a planet of some 7 billion people today. The Holocene extinction is characterized by the massive amount of human consumption of the Earths resources. Examples commonly used are over-fishing, ocean acidification and the broader decline of biodiversity. In the 1800’s global population reached 1 billion for the first time in human history and in just 216 years since this milestone global populations have reached 7 billion. It has been suggested that this exponential growth of human activity since the mid-20th century justifies the creation of a new geological epoch called the Anthropocene extinction. The present rate of extinction is believed to be as high as 140,000 lost species per year and it has shown no sign of slowing down. There has not been such a huge loss in diverse species since man first changed the planet after it left Africa and before the last Ice Age.