Is the 6th Mass Extinction already under way?

kennyc · 03-03-2011, 07:07 AM

Some think so:

"Life on earth is on the verge of a mass extinction comparable to that which wiped out the dinosaurs, scientists at UC Berkeley have warned.

Such events have happened only five times before in the last 540 million years, and each saw three-quarters or more of all animal species become extinct."

http://www.tgdaily.com/general-scien...dy-be-underway

kennyc · 03-05-2011, 02:02 PM

Another link: http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/201...han-you-think/

DixieGal · 03-05-2011, 02:09 PM

I wish they had given some stats on bird, bug, reptile, and amphibian extinction rates as well.

We have got to cut some apron strings and get off this rock, or our species will stay in a precarious state.

kennyc · 03-05-2011, 02:24 PM

I wish I could see/read the Nature paper these are based on, but I don't have a subscription.

I'm considering it though...I was a subscriber at one point for a few years.

DixieGal · 03-05-2011, 02:29 PM

Are you sure it is Nature? I dont see a citation, but my eyes miss a lot. I bet we could request the article if it is cited.

kennyc · 03-05-2011, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DixieGal

Are you sure it is Nature? I dont see a citation, but my eyes miss a lot. I bet we could request the article if it is cited.

Yep. There was another link I didn't post that just goes to the abstract.

From the Time piece: And according to a new study published in Nature, that extinction wave could occur in as little as 300 years.

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal...ture09678.html

DixieGal · 03-05-2011, 02:53 PM

Thanks for the cite. I will poke around a few libraries and see if i can get us the article.

kennyc · 03-05-2011, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DixieGal

Thanks for the cite. I will poke around a few libraries and see if i can get us the article.

Cool!

Mortis · 03-05-2011, 05:28 PM

I like to think that in the next 100 years there will be advances that change the odds a little, just look at the past 100 years, there have been huge strides in almost every field.

kennyc · 03-05-2011, 05:40 PM

Ah yes. The ol' Technology will save us. Well possibly...but I think if the ecosystem is sufficiently damaged we'll be like flies in a hurricane.

ardeegee · 03-05-2011, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mortis

I like to think that in the next 100 years there will be advances that change the odds a little, just look at the past 100 years, there have been huge strides in almost every field.

Yes, in the next 100 years, increasing populations will insure that species will become extinct much more quickly than today!

DixieGal · 03-05-2011, 06:09 PM

I can not get ahold of the article without visiting the library in person. Not gonna happen. It hasbeen pouring down rain all day long. I'm so sweet that I melt in rain!

wyndslash · 03-05-2011, 06:14 PM

i don't think technology can save humans o: not unless we learn to be a kinder species

kennyc · 03-05-2011, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DixieGal

I can not get ahold of the article without visiting the library in person. Not gonna happen. It hasbeen pouring down rain all day long. I'm so sweet that I melt in rain!

Thanks DG. No worries.

dsvick · 03-05-2011, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mortis

I like to think that in the next 100 years there will be advances that change the odds a little, just look at the past 100 years, there have been huge strides in almost every field.

Hopefully we'll develop interstellar travel and can then give the boot to all the morons on the planet!!

Seriously though, I agree that there have been huge strides in technology in the last century and we can probably count on it continuing. However, I think that too many people are waiting on some technological silver bullet to solve all of our problems and not doing enough themselves, right now. And that goes for a multitude of issues not just extinction or climate change.

03-03-2011, 07:07 AM	#1
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,898 Karma: 119230421 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	Is the 6th Mass Extinction already under way? Some think so: "Life on earth is on the verge of a mass extinction comparable to that which wiped out the dinosaurs, scientists at UC Berkeley have warned. Such events have happened only five times before in the last 540 million years, and each saw three-quarters or more of all animal species become extinct." http://www.tgdaily.com/general-scien...dy-be-underway

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03-05-2011, 02:02 PM	#2
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,898 Karma: 119230421 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	Another link: http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/201...han-you-think/

03-05-2011, 02:09 PM	#3
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	I wish they had given some stats on bird, bug, reptile, and amphibian extinction rates as well. We have got to cut some apron strings and get off this rock, or our species will stay in a precarious state.

03-05-2011, 02:24 PM	#4
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,898 Karma: 119230421 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	I wish I could see/read the Nature paper these are based on, but I don't have a subscription. I'm considering it though...I was a subscriber at one point for a few years.

03-05-2011, 02:29 PM	#5
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	Are you sure it is Nature? I dont see a citation, but my eyes miss a lot. I bet we could request the article if it is cited.

03-05-2011, 02:53 PM	#7
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	Thanks for the cite. I will poke around a few libraries and see if i can get us the article.

03-05-2011, 05:28 PM	#9
Mortis Canucklehead in Malaysia Posts: 1,633 Karma: 3127774 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Device: iPhone, Kindle	I like to think that in the next 100 years there will be advances that change the odds a little, just look at the past 100 years, there have been huge strides in almost every field.

03-05-2011, 05:40 PM	#10
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,898 Karma: 119230421 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	Ah yes. The ol' Technology will save us. Well possibly...but I think if the ecosystem is sufficiently damaged we'll be like flies in a hurricane.

03-05-2011, 06:09 PM	#12
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	I can not get ahold of the article without visiting the library in person. Not gonna happen. It hasbeen pouring down rain all day long. I'm so sweet that I melt in rain!

03-05-2011, 06:14 PM	#13
wyndslash Wizard Posts: 2,951 Karma: 3000001 Join Date: Feb 2011 Device: Kindle 3 wifi, Kindle Fire	i don't think technology can save humans o: not unless we learn to be a kinder species