The sixth extinction Somewhere on Earth, every 20 minutes, one animal species dies out.

[20score]

In my humble opinion, just like with healthcare, global warming and over-population, denial of the problem contributes to the escalation of said problem.

By Jeff Corwin

November 30, 2009

There is a holocaust happening. Right now. And it's not confined to one nation or even one region. It is a global crisis.

Species are going extinct en masse.

Every 20 minutes we lose an animal species. If this rate continues, by century's end, 50% of all living species will be gone. It is a phenomenon known as the sixth extinction. The fifth extinction took place 65 million years ago when a meteor smashed into the Earth, killing off the dinosaurs and many other species and opening the door for the rise of mammals. Currently, the sixth extinction is on track to dwarf the fifth.

What -- or more correctly -- who is to blame this time? As Pogo said, "We have met the enemy, and he is us."

The causes of this mass die-off are many: overpopulation, loss of habitat, global warming, species exploitation (the black market for rare animal parts is the third-largest illegal trade in the world, outranked only by weapons and drugs). The list goes on, but it all points to us.

Over the last 15 years, in the course of producing television documentaries and writing about wildlife, I have traveled the globe, and I have witnessed the grim carnage firsthand. I've observed the same story playing out in different locales.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-corwin30-2009nov30,0,7760875.story

[ihavenobias]

1. K & R.

Thanks for posting this.

[20score]

3. Thanks! I think it's very important. This article links so many of the problems we're facing.

[punkin87]

2. This is so sad!

[pitohui]

4. we should not forget the extinction of the plant species, it's going even faster

i have just read some horrifying stats abt the ongoing extinction of multiple species of conifers -- PINE TREE yall

global warming could literally kill multiple species of pine trees

it just seems so hopeless

and sometime it's so sudden, like the 3 species of vulture in india that have been wiped out in only a few years time by one medication put in the cows...

what is more harmless than a vulture, that wants nothing more than to clean up our garbage? it just seems so heartless...

the frogs are pretty much in hopeless situation, i read the story of the golden frog, where the lady went down to study them, saw plenty, got a grant from nat'l geographic and returned...and they were gone in a season, never to be seen again

costa rica used to be famous for its frogs, i can't remember seeing a living frog in costa rica in this century

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10. Yes, what's happened to the frogs are a very strong warning to us.

[greennina]

5. Does mankind deserve to continue?

That's the real question. Based upon just this, no. Absolutely not.

[20score]

6. I keep getting torn, in regard to your question. Sometimes I say no, and then the optimist

in me comes out.
Oh well.

[greyl]

8. Mankind at large is not the problem.

Our particular culture is.

[punkin87]

7. Kick

[flvegan]

9. We humans are a selfish lot.

That's really all there is to it.

[punkin87]

11. Another kick, this is important.