Columnist: Contrary to what many people believe, the number of species on Earth is probably not dwindling. Extinction is a natural process, and about as many species are likely to go extinct this year as went extinct in 1970. But the emergence of new species is also a natural process; there is no reason to doubt that new species are emerging at about the same rate as they have been for the last several centuries. Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the columnist's argument? ['In 1970 fewer new species emerged than went extinct.', 'The regions of the world where new species tend to emerge at the highest rate are also where species tend to go extinct at the highest rate.', 'Scientists are now better able to identify species facing serious risk of extinction than they were in 1970.', 'The vast majority of the species that have ever existed are now extinct.']