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s across its back； until shortly before the last one died； forlorn and nameless； in aprivate hobart zoo in 1936。 go to the tasmanian museum today and ask to see the last of thisspecies—the only large carnivorous marsupial to live into modern times—and all they canshow you are photographs。 the last surviving thylacine was thrown out with the weekly trash。
i mention all this to make the point that if you were designing an organism to look after lifein our lonely cosmos； to monitor where it is going and keep a record of where it has been； youwouldn’t choose human beings for the job。
but here’s an extremely salient point： we have been chosen； by fate or providence orwhatever you wish to call it。 as far as we can tell； we are the best there is。 we may be allthere is。 it’s an unnerving thought that we may be the living universe’s supreme achievementand its worst nightmare simultaneously。
because we are so remarkably careless about looking after things； both when alive andwhen not； we have no idea—really none at all—about how many things have died offpermanently； or may soon； or may never； and what role we have played in any part of theprocess。 in 1979； in the book the sinking ark； the author norman myers suggested thathuman activities were causing about two extinctions a week on the planet。 by the early 1990she had raised the figure to some six hundred per week。 （that’s extinctions of all types—plants； insects； and so on as well as animals。） others have put the figure even higher—to wellover a thousand a week。 a united nations report of 1995； on the other hand； put the totalnumber of known extinctions in the last four hundred years at slightly under 500 for animalsand slightly over 650 for plants—while allowing that this was “almost certainly anunderestimate；” particularly with regard to tropical species。 a few interpreters think mostextinction figures are grossly inflated。
the fact is； we don’t know。 don’t have any idea。 we don’t know when we started doingmany of the things we’ve done。 we don’t know what we are doing right now or how ourpresent actions will affect the future。 what we do know is that there is only one planet to do iton； and only one species of being capable of making a considered difference。 edward o。
wilson expressed it with unimprovable brevity in the diversity of life： “one planet； oneexperiment。”
if this book has a lesson； it is that we are awfully lucky to be here—and by “we” i meanevery living thing。 to attain any kind of life in this universe of ours appears to be quite anachievement。 as humans we are doubly lucky； of course： we enjoy not only the privilege ofexistence but also the singular ability to appreciate it and even； in a multitude of ways； tomake it better。 it is a talent we have only barely begun to grasp。
we have arrived at this position of eminence in a stunningly short time。 behaviorallymodern human beings—that is； people who can speak and make art and organize plexactivities—have existed for only about 0。0001 percent of earth’s history。 but surviving foreven that little while has required a nearly endless string of good fortune。
we really are at the beginning of it all。 the trick； of course； is to make sure we never findthe end。 and that； almost certainly； will require a good deal more than lucky breaks。
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