Humans Meet Criteria for Being Endangered Species

W

e know the usual suspects when it comes to endangered animals: species like certain whales, the Siberian tiger, and the California condor are pretty obvious examples of animals that may not be around in the next few decades. But humans? We're pretty good, right? No chance of endangerment? According to the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which was put forth by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, not quite.

The list of conditions that a species must exhibit in order to be considered as potentially soon-to-be endangered includes things like "an over-utilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes," and a decline "due to disease or predation."  The human race may be considered endangered at some point in the future, thanks to a petition that the Business Insider put forth for suggestion.

With Snooki pregnant and MTV's "16 and Pregnant" and "Teen Mom" franchises, we'd argue that plenty of people are still around to repopulate.

The petition outlines that the basic list requirements are met, and that "upwards of 50% of this species' range has come under the threat of near-term (within the next 50 years) extinction due to economic growth (and it's natural collapse), untempered development, severe resource misallocation, air/water pollution, ecosystem degradation, energy scarcity, climate change, potential nuclear war and a variety of inter-related factors."

The suggested petition also points to economic collapse causing job loss, loss of income/retirement funds/net worth as being a reason why humans may become endangered.

While the stipulations outlined make sense, we find it hard to believe that humans will ever become endangered. After all, with Snooki pregnant and MTV's 16 and Pregnant/Teen Mom franchises, we'd argue that plenty of people are still around to repopulate.