Over geological time yes. Biologically, usually happens in events that happen during geological time eg earthquakes, eruptions, droughts and floods. Meteors. These can cause mass habitat degradation/ destruction, the sorts of events that can cause a species to become extinct. Events like these can takes out a lot of species at once quickly ie 1 or 2 generations.
In geological time, we are living in an extinction event, happening right now.

The question is, have we contributed to the cause(s) that have made extinction become the rule, rather than the exception, during this eventful time we are living in?

"Death is the rule, survival is the exception" is a better quote. Makes more sense and biologically/ evolutionary correct. Wonder what context he said it?