--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Of the many species that have existed on…" description: "\"Of the many species that have existed on earth - estimates run as high as fifty billion - more than ninety-nine per cent have disappeared. In the light..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/808/elizabeth-kolbert-7570_amount_of-the-many-species-that-have-existed-on_685035.png" --- # Of the many species that have existed on earth - estimates… ![“Of the many species that have existed on earth - estimates run as high as fifty billion - more than ninety-nine per cent have disappeared. In the light of this, it is sometimes joked that all of life today amounts to little more than a rounding error.” quote by Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/808/elizabeth-kolbert-7570_amount_of-the-many-species-that-have-existed-on_685035.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/808/elizabeth-kolbert-7570_amount_of-the-many-species-that-have-existed-on_685035.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/808/elizabeth-kolbert-7570_amount_of-the-many-species-that-have-existed-on_685035.png) > “Of the many species that have existed on earth - estimates run as high as fifty billion - more than ninety-nine per cent have disappeared. In the light of this, it is sometimes joked that all of life today amounts to little more than a rounding error.” [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Most species that ever lived are extinct; current biodiversity is a tiny fraction of life's history. **In simple terms:** Most species are gone; today’s life is a tiny remnant. Key Takeaway Recognize the fragility of ecosystems. Themes extinction biodiversity history Mood reflective concerned Type scientific educational When to use this quote - conservation policy - education - climate activism Key Concepts Ecology mass extinction anthropocene Questions to Reflect On - What does this perspective change about our responsibility? - How can we protect the remaining species? A Different Perspective public outreach ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amount/) [Billion Ninety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/billion-ninety-3724929/) [Billions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/billions/) [Cents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cents/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Earth Estimates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth-estimates-3724928/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Errors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/errors/) [Existed Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existed-earth-2374521/) [Fifty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fifty/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Nine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nine/) [Ninety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ninety/) [Ninety nine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ninety-nine/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species/) [Species Existed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species-existed-3724927/) [Survival](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survival/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) ## Related quotes > [“Of the many species that have existed on earth--estimates run as high as fifty billion--more than ninety-nine per cent have disappeared. In the light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/of-the-many-species-that-have-existed-on-earth-estimates-run-as-high-2/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [“Ninety-five percent of all the species that have ever existed are now extinct, so don’t look so goddamn smug. —GERARD RYDER”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/ninety-five-percent-of-all-the-species-that-have-ever-existed-are-now/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) > [There are millions of different species of animals and plants on earth--possibly as many as forty million. But somewhere between five and fifty BILLION…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-m-raup/there-are-millions-of-different-species-of-animals-and-plants-on/) [David M. Raup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-m-raup/) > [It is easy to be independent when all behind you agree with you, but the difficulty comes when nine hundred and ninety-nine of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/it-is-easy-to-be-independent-when-all-behind-you-agree-with-you-but/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [Ninety-nine percent of all work on self is attitudinal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-j-gold/ninety-nine-percent-of-all-work-on-self-is-attitudinal/) [E. J. Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-j-gold/) > [Ninety-nine percent of humanity does not know that we have the option to "make it" economically on this planet and in the Universe. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/ninety-nine-percent-of-humanity-does-not-know-that-we-have-the-option/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [Young men of this class never do anything for themselves that they can get other people to do for them, and it is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/young-men-of-this-class-never-do-anything-for-themselves-that-they/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [None of my inventions came by accident. I see a worthwhile need to be met and I make trial after trial until it comes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/none-of-my-inventions-came-by-accident-i-see-a-worthwhile-need-to-be/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [SAUCE, n. The one infallible sign of civilization and enlightenment. A people with no sauces has one thousand vices; a people with one sauce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/sauce-n-the-one-infallible-sign-of-civilization-and-enlightenment-a/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [In science, probably ninety-nine percent of the knowable has to be discovered. We know only a few streaks about astronomy. We are only beginning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-steffens/in-science-probably-ninety-nine-percent-of-the-knowable-has-to-be/) [Lincoln Steffens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-steffens/) > [Ninety-nine one-hundredths of our lives we are mere hedgers and ditchers, but from time to time we meet with reminders of our destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/ninety-nine-one-hundredths-of-our-lives-we-are-mere-hedgers-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The best picture has not yet been painted; the greatest poem is still unsung; the mightiest novel remains to be written; the divinest music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-steffens/the-best-picture-has-not-yet-been-painted-the-greatest-poem-is-still/) [Lincoln Steffens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-steffens/) > [Passion gives you an advantage over others, because one person with passion is greater than ninety-nine who have only an interest!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/passion-gives-you-an-advantage-over-others-because-one-person-with/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [I had thought that growing up's consolation was that you could escape from the arbitrariness of things, that somehow one acquired more control. Now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-galloway/i-had-thought-that-growing-up-s-consolation-was-that-you-could-escape/) [Janice Galloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-galloway/) > [Ninety nine per cent of the time, for anyone who wins or makes money, it makes them happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-blessed/ninety-nine-per-cent-of-the-time-for-anyone-who-wins-or-makes-money/) [Brian Blessed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-blessed/) ## More by Elizabeth Kolbert > [“The size of the greenhouse forcing is estimated, at this point, to be 2.5 w/m2. A miniature Christmas light gives off about four tenths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/the-size-of-the-greenhouse-forcing-is-estimated-at-this-point-to-be-2/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [You've got to do everything, everything's got to be pointing in the same direction and you've got to really turn this whole economic engine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/you-ve-got-to-do-everything-everything-s-got-to-be-pointing-in-the/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [Well in the scientific there is virtually no debate over certain things. For example, that we are changing the world. Humans are changing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/well-in-the-scientific-there-is-virtually-no-debate-over-certain/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [Humans will eventually become extinct. People treat that as a radical thing to say. But the fossil record shows us that everything eventually becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/humans-will-eventually-become-extinct-people-treat-that-as-a-radical/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [“A sign in the Hall of Biodiversity offers a quote from the Stanford ecologist Paul Ehrlich: IN PUSHING OTHER SPECIES TO EXTINCTION, HUMANITY IS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/a-sign-in-the-hall-of-biodiversity-offers-a-quote-from-the-stanford/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [We have all this Paleolithic art that suggests that our ancestors really venerated animals and that they depended on wild animals to survive -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/we-have-all-this-paleolithic-art-that-suggests-that-our-ancestors/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [“Crutzen wrote up his idea in a short essay, “Geology of Mankind,” that ran in Nature. “It seems appropriate to assign the term ‘Anthropocene’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/crutzen-wrote-up-his-idea-in-a-short-essay-geology-of-mankind-that/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [“Modern humans arrived in Europe around forty thousand years ago, and again and again, the archaeological record shows, as soon as they made their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/modern-humans-arrived-in-europe-around-forty-thousand-years-ago-and/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [It seems that the Neanderthal DNA that modern Europeans and Asians (and also Native Americans and basically all non-African people) are carrying around is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/it-seems-that-the-neanderthal-dna-that-modern-europeans-and-asians/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [What are the Chinese doing, what are we doing, what are - so we need, both the developed world and the developing world, really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/what-are-the-chinese-doing-what-are-we-doing-what-are-so-we-need-both/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [“As the effects of global warming become more and more difficult to ignore, will we react by finally fashioning a global response? Or will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/as-the-effects-of-global-warming-become-more-and-more-difficult-to/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [As best as can be determined, the world is now warmer than it has been at any point in the last two millennia, and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/as-best-as-can-be-determined-the-world-is-now-warmer-than-it-has-been/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [I traveled really to amazing places. I went to the Great Barrier Reef, I went to the Amazon, I went to the Andes, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/i-traveled-really-to-amazing-places-i-went-to-the-great-barrier-reef/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [“At the Biesbosch nature center, I met up with a water-ministry official named Eelke Turkstra. Turkstra runs a program called Ruimte voor de Rivier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/at-the-biesbosch-nature-center-i-met-up-with-a-water-ministry/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [“Darwin’s familiarity with human-caused extinction is also clear from On the Origin of Species. In one of the many passages in which he heaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/darwin-s-familiarity-with-human-caused-extinction-is-also-clear-from/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) [Explore all 90 Elizabeth Kolbert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) ## More Amount quotes > [Dating someone on the opposite end of the happy spectrum teaches you an incredible amount of patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pine/dating-someone-on-the-opposite-end-of-the-happy-spectrum-teaches-you/) [Chris Pine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pine/) > [When the amount of change externally exceeds the amount of change internally, the end is in sight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-welch/when-the-amount-of-change-externally-exceeds-the-amount-of-change/) [Jack Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-welch/) > [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [It's a great story for us whenever an entrepreneur makes a crazy amount of money and we get to tell the world about it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-lacy/it-s-a-great-story-for-us-whenever-an-entrepreneur-makes-a-crazy/) [Sarah Lacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-lacy/) > [It's a challenge to work a character's arc into a format in which you only have a very limited amount of time to grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginnifer-goodwin/it-s-a-challenge-to-work-a-character-s-arc-into-a-format-in-which-you/) [Ginnifer Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginnifer-goodwin/) > [The amount of things you can do with a kettlebell is unsurpassed by any other training equipment - dumbbells, resistance machines, free weights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-hamilton/the-amount-of-things-you-can-do-with-a-kettlebell-is-unsurpassed-by/) [Laird Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-hamilton/) > [The amount you give isn't important. What matters is what that amount represents in terms of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/the-amount-you-give-isn-t-important-what-matters-is-what-that-amount/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [There's a place in Botswana where there are 100,000 elephants living in a single population. Think of the amount of space they need. Remember,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-bergin/there-s-a-place-in-botswana-where-there-are-100-000-elephants-living/) [Patrick Bergin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-bergin/) > [How could you justify giving Holland twice the amount of money that you gave Belgium? Well, finally, I put it up to them. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-averell-harriman/how-could-you-justify-giving-holland-twice-the-amount-of-money-that/) [W. Averell Harriman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-averell-harriman/) > [I am not a great believer in dialectical struggle. I am much more of a fusion person. I see it as a dialogue, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/i-am-not-a-great-believer-in-dialectical-struggle-i-am-much-more-of-a/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [The risk of developing carcinoma of the lung increases steadily as the amount smoked increases. If the risk among non-smokers is taken as unity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-doll/the-risk-of-developing-carcinoma-of-the-lung-increases-steadily-as/) [Richard Doll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-doll/) > [Both fact and logic seem to me to support the view that savings invested in privately owned economic tools of production amount to an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-a-harper/both-fact-and-logic-seem-to-me-to-support-the-view-that-savings/) [F. A. Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-a-harper/) > [You have a little bit of talent, a certain amount of good fortune and a lot of hard work in pursuit of whatever truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-sutherland/you-have-a-little-bit-of-talent-a-certain-amount-of-good-fortune-and/) [Donald Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-sutherland/) > [I have a tremendous amount of respect for military families. To have to worry about your loved ones and still try and live a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashanti/i-have-a-tremendous-amount-of-respect-for-military-families-to-have/) [Ashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashanti/) > [In sports teams, apart from talk of sporting prowess and the imparting of inspirational thought, an extraordinary amount of time is spent discussing, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harsha-bhogle/in-sports-teams-apart-from-talk-of-sporting-prowess-and-the-imparting/) [Harsha Bhogle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harsha-bhogle/) [Browse all 4,202 Amount quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amount/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Of the many species that have existed on earth - estimates run as high as fifty billion - more than ninety-nine per cent have disappeared. In the light of this, it is sometimes joked that all of life today amounts to little more than a rounding error.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elizabeth Kolbert" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/of-the-many-species-that-have-existed-on-earth-estimates-run-as-high/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Amount" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/of-the-many-species-that-have-existed-on-earth-estimates-run-as-high/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/808/elizabeth-kolbert-7570_amount_of-the-many-species-that-have-existed-on_685035.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/808/elizabeth-kolbert-7570_amount_of-the-many-species-that-have-existed-on_685035.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/808/elizabeth-kolbert-7570_amount_of-the-many-species-that-have-existed-on_685035.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Of the many species that have existed on earth - estimates run as high as fifty billion - more than…” — Elizabeth Kolbert", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Elizabeth Kolbert", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Of the many species that have...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/of-the-many-species-that-have-existed-on-earth-estimates-run-as-high/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/of-the-many-species-that-have-existed-on-earth-estimates-run-as-high/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```