World's sixth mass extinction may be underway -- study

[cory777]

Source: AFP

PARIS (AFP) – Mankind may have unleashed the sixth known mass extinction in Earth's history, according to a paper released on Wednesday by the science journal Nature.

Over the past 540 million years, five mega-wipeouts of species have occurred through naturally-induced events.

But the new threat is man-made, inflicted by habitation loss, over-hunting, over-fishing, the spread of germs and viruses and introduced species, and by climate change caused by fossil-fuel greenhouse gases, says the study.

Evidence from fossils suggests that in the "Big Five" extinctions, at least 75 percent of all animal species were destroyed.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110303/ts_afp/environmentbiodiversityextinction

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[rpannier]

1. Hurry up and take the Repiblikans to extinction n/t

[marasinghe]

2. ain't that the truth.

".... those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first drive mad ...."

[texastoast]

3. It's the Age of Man

And ages pass. We'll bring this passing upon ourselves.

[chollybocker]

4. 540 million years = Latest Breaking News.

How long have I been sleeping? :silly:

[Gman]

5. Look at the bright side

it could have been an asteroid.

[woo me with science]

6. I hope this includes 4/5 of the traffic on my way to work.

[DeSwiss]

7. If we do not have a loving concern for the environment in which we dwell....

...it will no longer sustain us -- and we will not be worthy of it.

- K&R

[glinda]

8. The answer lies in arresting those whose crimes against humanity and the planet

continue to threaten per their greed and stupidity and destruction of the environment. We have no chance at all as long as they continue free from prison.

[DeSwiss]

15. That would likely be a good place to start.....

...however, not an end within itself. Even the criminals against humanity and the environment that you mention, they are simply replicating what they learned from their elders. It is a system that enriches them and they are not likely to change it from that purpose. True, they know what they are doing is damaging, even killing -- but it is the modus operandi of the system of Capitalistic Greed under which our world operates. No one will willingly change this for fear of losing power.

For the kind of change that I'm speaking of to happen, we must ultimately make a paradigm-shifting leap in our thinking and our understanding of how we are connected to everything in our environment.

- And we must learn that we can't "throw anything away" because there really is no "away."

[loudsue]

19. True that. But it is also that there are ALREADY too many people for the planet

to feed, and support their waste, in a healthy and sustainable way. If we use massive amounts of chemicals and eat food that is laced with gawd knows what, we can actually put that crap in people's mouths and stave off hunger. But it is not healthy, nor is it sustainable if the population continues to rise.

Medicine, as broken as it is in this country, still keeps people alive and breeding long enough that we keep putting more and more burdens on the earth to sustain, house, clothe and feed ever more and more people. Plagues, weather and wars formerly culled the population enough to sustain moderate population growth, and the earth could still support more people. No longer. The oceans alone are dying at an amazing rate due to the refuse and pollution of billions of people, and hundreds of thousands of chemicals.

[Amonester]

13. At this point, it's not " if " but "when" ...

and "how" (horrible).

[DeSwiss]

16. You may be right....

...but I hope it won't be as bad as either of us thinks it'll be.

"It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult." ~Seneca

[Rex]

9. The 'Fuck You I Got Mine' mentality will lead us there.

[tavalon]

10. I guess they have to say "may be", but it's been pretty obvious for about

5 years. I wonder when they're going to have the guts to call it the homosapiens extinction? We're not only causing this one, we get to participate in a very active way as one of the species which will be extinct at the end of it.

[Phlem]

11. I recall a Scientific American article

within 6 mos. or so regarding a period in history where the climate left most of the earth inhabitable and that current man maybe a descendant of a group that lived through that period at the southern most tip of Africa. Not quite sure, need to file through my issues to verify location specifically but the jist of the article was that they were able to live and thrive by being close to the the ocean. They lived in a narrow greenbelt but that most of they're food came from the ocean. I worry now at how bad our oceans are polluted and if any tribe could survive mass extinction.

I'm gently directing my girl to be a scientist and to take and make education of high regard. We need smart kids NOW!

-p

[progressoid]

12. Charlie Sheen said what?

[OnyxCollie]

14. REPENT

THE END IS EXTREMELY FUCKING NIGH

[jimlup]

17. I took a geology course several years ago.

The professor asked us "What is the biggest mass extinction event of all time?" Nobody could answer. He then quickly quipped "You're living in it!"

[truedelphi]

18. When I saw the movie "Gaslands" one of my reactions concerned all

The many watering holes, rivers, lakes, ponds etc that our wild life and migrating birds use for their drinking water. That with the natural gas industry coming in and destroying our resurces from Pennsylvania all the way out to Colorado and beyond, one is left with overwhelming despair.

And because we live in an era where even our supposed "Democratic" President views natural gas as one of the "natural" and clean resources, we have next to no legislation to protect either the human population, the wildlife and last but not least, the topography as well.

No one with any power is speaking up in any meaningful way about nature.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

20. A huge landslide in the Canary Islands could wipe out the e coast of the USA

just thought I'd add that

[Thor_MN]

21. It could, but it would be neither manmade, nor a mass extinction.

It would certainly be a natural disaster, but that's not what the OP is about.