# We Know We Are Causing Rapid Extinction by David Suzuki > “We’re the first species to have caused rapid extinction and to be aware of what we’re doing.” > **— David Suzuki**, *“We have to stop squandering our brief time on Earth,” 2021* ## Sources and Context - **Authored essay:** [David Suzuki Foundation, “We have to stop squandering our brief time on Earth” (2021)](https://davidsuzuki.org/story/we-have-to-stop-squandering-our-brief-time-on-earth/). Suzuki contrasts the human-driven extinction crisis with earlier mass extinctions, then argues that intelligence can also recognize and change the destructive pattern. This quotation is an ecological call to responsibility, not a claim of evolutionary inevitability. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Article:** [[articles/Climate Systems as Human Resilience Platforms|Climate Systems as Human Resilience Platforms]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley|The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Ecological Limits|Ecological Limits]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/David Suzuki|David Suzuki]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “We’re the first species to have caused rapid extinction and to be aware of what we’re doing.” — David Suzuki, “We have to stop squandering our brief time on Earth,” 2021 https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-suzuki-aware-of-extinction ```