The Independent: Marine life facing mass extinction 'within one human generation'

[GliderGuider]

Oceans on brink of catastrophe

The world's oceans are faced with an unprecedented loss of species comparable to the great mass extinctions of prehistory, a major report suggests today. The seas are degenerating far faster than anyone has predicted, the report says, because of the cumulative impact of a number of severe individual stresses, ranging from climate warming and sea-water acidification, to widespread chemical pollution and gross overfishing.

The coming together of these factors is now threatening the marine environment with a catastrophe "unprecedented in human history", according to the report, from a panel of leading marine scientists brought together in Oxford earlier this year by the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The stark suggestion made by the panel is that the potential extinction of species, from large fish at one end of the scale to tiny corals at the other, is directly comparable to the five great mass extinctions in the geological record, during each of which much of the world's life died out. They range from the Ordovician-Silurian "event" of 450 million years ago, to the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction of 65 million years ago, which is believed to have wiped out the dinosaurs. The worst of them, the event at the end of the Permian period, 251 million years ago, is thought to have eliminated 70 per cent of species on land and 96 per cent of all species in the sea.

"The world's leading experts on oceans are surprised by the rate and magnitude of changes we are seeing," said Dan Laffoley, the IUCN's senior adviser on marine science and conservation. "The challenges for the future of the ocean are vast, but, unlike previous generations, we know now what needs to happen. The time to protect the blue heart of our planet is now, today and urgent."

I'm officially disgusted with the human race. We don't deserve a planet. I sincerely hope Frank Fenner turns out to be right.

[NV Whino]

1. Yeah, the same thing

Too bad it's not the human element facing extinction.

But then maybe it is.

[tex-wyo-dem]

2. As the Earth and all its inhabitants go, so shall we...

Our technology will sustain us for a while, but if we continue to go down the path we are currently on the endgame will not be pretty.

Either we collectively as humans wake up and start living in a more sustainable manner, or we will be going the way of the dodo.