Saturday, April 23, 2011

Mass extinction coming soon?

The possibility of a new mass extinction (the sixth) is always good for a weekend post. Easter bunnies anyone?

Putting an estimation on the arrival at between 300 and 22,000 years gives us little breathing room - the scientists need to tighten up on their sensitivity analysis a little.

Are We At The Start Of A New Mass Extinction? [Environmental Graffiti]

According the World Conservation Union, 51% of known reptiles, 52% of known insects and 73% of known flowering plants are under threat. Many species will become extinct before they are even discovered. In the United States, there are approximately 1,300 endangered species. In 1993, the eminent Harvard biologist E.O. Wilson estimated that we lose approximately 30,000 species a year. We now face the loss of entire genera, and it appears we are the culprit.

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Many scientists believe that we are actually in the midst of the sixth mass extinction. If this is the case, it will be the first such mass extinction that was not caused by a physical activity such as volcanic activity or a meteor. This mass extinction will be caused by living organisms, and the cause is more of a serious problem than one of its major contributors – global warming. If all species currently threatened actually become extinct, we can expect the sixth mass extinction to properly arrive within the next 300 to 22,000 years.
Click the link to read more.

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