Mass Extinction Caused by Deadly 'Earth Burp'

[Turbineguy]

A massive, long-ago extinction was once thought to have been caused by a destructive wave of volcanic activity. Scientists now point their fingers at another culprit.

A giant, deadly “Earth burp.”

Micha Ruhl and researchers from the Nordic Center for Earth Evolution at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark have found that the mass extinction of half of Earth’s marine life over 200 million years ago was likely the result of a giant release of carbon methane in the atmosphere.

This massive methane “burp” led to an increase in atmospheric temperature around the globe -- and organisms and ecosystems were simply unable adapt to their hotter environment.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/07/21/mass-extinction-caused-by-earths-burp/#ixzz1Smk3DJlr

Just so you know. Fox implies the next mass extinction will not be caused by republicans. As Michelle Bachmann would say "...it's natural!"

[3waygeek]

1. If the release was methane...

wouldn't it be an Earth fart?

[Turbineguy]

2. Well, yes, but....

Fox is a family values kinda place.

[dbonds]

3. The earth has ways of getting rid of undesirables.

[kestrel91316]

4. All that frozen methane under the oceans is gonna let go pretty much all at once.

Game, set, match, humans. I'm not gonna buy a very big bag of people food.

It was nice while it lasted.....

[guitar man]

5. I had Taco Bell for lunch

And I'm having a Rueben sandwich for dinner. Get ready for another mass extinction. :evilgrin:

[Poll_Blind]

6. But aren't we in the process of that happening right now?

:shrug:

PB

[bemildred]

7. And it's entirely "consistent" with what is happening now.

If anything, the change was less rapid back then, this is centuries, not millenia. And there is a heck of a lot of methane lying around until it gets warmed up enough. Methane release has multiple effects, it sucks oxygen from the atmosphere, it heats things up, it makes even more CO2, it makes the waters of the earth more acidic, ...

[Turbineguy]

11. I guess the question goes like this:

Will all this happen before the repubs finish giving Wall Street banksters our pensions, assets, SS checks and everything?

[Viva_La_Revolution]

8. link to science based article HERE

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/07/mass-extinction-methane/


notice the 3rd grade reading level in the faux version...

[eppur_se_muova]

10. Thanks! nt

[Speck Tater]

9. Look on the bright side

The last time the earth got superheated the oceans all choked on plankton, which consumed all the oxygen and the oceans all died. BUT... and here's the good news, all that plankton sank to the bottom and over the next several millions of years became, you guessed it, OIL! So if the earth overheats again at least we'll have plenty of oil in another 20 or 30 million years!

[saras]

14. And corporations are eternal - they'll be here to collect in twenty million years, right?

I thought corporations were supposed to have TROUBLE with long-term planning.

[Odin2005]

12. Leave it to Fox to botch a science story. Both the volcanoes and the methane had a role.

[derby378]

13. ERRRRRTH BUUUUUURP!!

I can't wait for this little morsel to circulate at frat parties. Wheee.

[roamer65]

15. Pull my finger.

:evilgrin: