Risk of man-caused mass extinction within decades

[IsaacNewton]

From CNN

Sixth extinction: 20 years to stop ecological collapse - CNN.com

"(CNN)The Earth's next mass extinction -- the first caused by people -- is on the horizon. And the consequences are almost unthinkably dire: Three-quarters of species could disappear.

This has happened only five times in the planet's history -- including the mass extinction that killed the dinosaurs.
What's different now is that humans are causing these changes."

...

"Another frightening data point in this trend toward extinction emerged on Thursday in a report from the World Wildlife Fund, an environmental advocacy group. The report claims 58% declines in certain vertebrate animal populations since 1970 and says that if trends continue, then two-thirds of all of these individual birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles and mammals will be gone by 2020."

...

"I agree with Pimm that these numbers can be misleading, but that's only if people misunderstand them. I also spoke with Anthony Barnosky, executive director of the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve at Stanford University. He told me the most important thing to remember is that this report is limited in scope -- it has little data from some important tropical regions, for example, and only covers animals with backbones. But it highlights an important and little-considered fact: It's not just that species are going extinct at an alarming rate -- at least 100 times what could be considered "normal," and maybe much higher than that -- but that populations of still-common animals are declining very rapidly."

"Species are going extinct at... at least 100 times what could be consideered "normal"" Nothing to worry about. Man's influence on the climate is beneficial to life. God guarantees it.

Right.

"but that populations of still-common animals are declining very rapidly."

The PH of the oceans is also changing, which keeps shellfish from constructing a shell. The PH balance is critical to mollusks producing a shell. Add this to the bleaching of coral reefs.

The extinction event that killed the dinosaurs wiped out an estiamted 75% of species. So scientists are predicting a catastrophic extinction on that scale. What we are causing and witnessing is a very slow motion asteroid strike on Earth identical to the one that wiped out the dinosaurs. As stated there have been 5 major mass extinctions in the history of life on Earth going back some 650 million to 1 billion years ago. There have also been 17 or 18 minor mass extinctions. Minor meaning between 20-49% of species went extinct, if that can be considered minor.

The largest extinction occurred 242 million years ago when up to 95% of all species went extinct, known as The Great Dying. It took 20-30 million years for life to recover from that event. The point of no return for humanity has already been exceeded and likely in the next 5-10 years all of humanity and it's governments will finally understand what is coming and will frantically try to stop or arrest it. Doubtful that we can do anything then as even now the methane clathrates are melting and Runaway Global Warming is already underway.

Planet Extinction - The Clathrate Time Bomb

 

[Shrimpbox]

And to pile on with facts, there is more forest east of the Mississippi today than there was when the pilgrims landed. Another feature that naturists,ignore is that birds have changed their patterns. Canadian geese stay here around Tallahassee year round and they are becoming a nuisance. Ducks are picking appalachicola bay and the franklin county forests in greater number for wintering. Sea turtles have increased so much they are off the endangered list I believe. Elk are being reestablished in the smoky mountain national park. Wild pigs have literally gone hog wild. How about buffalo. Pronghorn antelope. Jesus the list is endless. Why is it that no one gives credit to the people for improving the plight of animals. You all just can't say things are better, you can't.

 

[SSDD]

From CNN

Sixth extinction: 20 years to stop ecological collapse - CNN.com

"(CNN)The Earth's next mass extinction -- the first caused by people -- is on the horizon. And the consequences are almost unthinkably dire: Three-quarters of species could disappear.

This has happened only five times in the planet's history -- including the mass extinction that killed the dinosaurs.
What's different now is that humans are causing these changes."

...

"Another frightening data point in this trend toward extinction emerged on Thursday in a report from the World Wildlife Fund, an environmental advocacy group. The report claims 58% declines in certain vertebrate animal populations since 1970 and says that if trends continue, then two-thirds of all of these individual birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles and mammals will be gone by 2020."

...

"I agree with Pimm that these numbers can be misleading, but that's only if people misunderstand them. I also spoke with Anthony Barnosky, executive director of the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve at Stanford University. He told me the most important thing to remember is that this report is limited in scope -- it has little data from some important tropical regions, for example, and only covers animals with backbones. But it highlights an important and little-considered fact: It's not just that species are going extinct at an alarming rate -- at least 100 times what could be considered "normal," and maybe much higher than that -- but that populations of still-common animals are declining very rapidly."

"Species are going extinct at... at least 100 times what could be consideered "normal"" Nothing to worry about. Man's influence on the climate is beneficial to life. God guarantees it.

Right.

And you believe that bullshit? Damn, but you are a first class, top shelf, grade A dupe... You are among the most useful of idiots.

 

[skookerasbil]

Hey Crick......then I would suggest getting to work on that emergency ark. Can never be sure those decades might be just years so.........

BTW.....check with Mamooth. Guy built his own prototype ark.......had a little problem on his maiden run though...........

[URL=http://s42.photobucket.com/user/baldaltima/media/ARK.png.html][/URL]


Evidently, while docking the boat, his faggy little cat started running around and he took his eye off the pier and Ooooooops!!. Even in a smaller version, might give you peace of mind

 

[Crick]

And to pile on with facts, there is more forest east of the Mississippi today than there was when the pilgrims landed. Another feature that naturists,ignore is that birds have changed their patterns. Canadian geese stay here around Tallahassee year round and they are becoming a nuisance. Ducks are picking appalachicola bay and the franklin county forests in greater number for wintering. Sea turtles have increased so much they are off the endangered list I believe. Elk are being reestablished in the smoky mountain national park. Wild pigs have literally gone hog wild. How about buffalo. Pronghorn antelope. Jesus the list is endless. Why is it that no one gives credit to the people for improving the plight of animals. You all just can't say things are better, you can't.

Not unless we're willing to lie.

 

[skookerasbil]

Who exactly is caring in 2016?

I mean besides the religion?

Dismal ratings for DiCaprio’s Global Warming Epic ‘Before the Flood’ – beaten by ‘Bubble Guppies’

 

[Crick]

From CNN

Sixth extinction: 20 years to stop ecological collapse - CNN.com

"(CNN)The Earth's next mass extinction -- the first caused by people -- is on the horizon. And the consequences are almost unthinkably dire: Three-quarters of species could disappear.

This has happened only five times in the planet's history -- including the mass extinction that killed the dinosaurs.
What's different now is that humans are causing these changes."

...

"Another frightening data point in this trend toward extinction emerged on Thursday in a report from the World Wildlife Fund, an environmental advocacy group. The report claims 58% declines in certain vertebrate animal populations since 1970 and says that if trends continue, then two-thirds of all of these individual birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles and mammals will be gone by 2020."

...

"I agree with Pimm that these numbers can be misleading, but that's only if people misunderstand them. I also spoke with Anthony Barnosky, executive director of the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve at Stanford University. He told me the most important thing to remember is that this report is limited in scope -- it has little data from some important tropical regions, for example, and only covers animals with backbones. But it highlights an important and little-considered fact: It's not just that species are going extinct at an alarming rate -- at least 100 times what could be considered "normal," and maybe much higher than that -- but that populations of still-common animals are declining very rapidly."

"Species are going extinct at... at least 100 times what could be consideered "normal"" Nothing to worry about. Man's influence on the climate is beneficial to life. God guarantees it.

Right.

And you believe that bullshit? Damn, but you are a first class, top shelf, grade A dupe... You are among the most useful of idiots.

And you are the one poster here most likely to make unsubstantiated assertions. Show us the data that support your claims.

 

[12icer]

Environmentalist, and other cry wolfers are the PROBLEM, not the answer. The aforementioned caused the banning of DDT, because some ignorant writer decided that if it killed Mosquitos, it MUST kill everything else, WRONG. As liberal shit jumped through their ass all over the world, the BEST defense the world has ever seen against mosquito borne illness was banned and became unavailable. Where I lived we used to ride our bikes in the fog, and guess what we are still here 50 or 60 years later. BUT about 100 million children and seniors are not because of mosquito borne illness. The Department of interior decided that the coyotes needed to be reintroduced in many areas where they had been eradicated and they did so. Now the Rabbit population is very low, the Quail population is almost nonexistent, and a lot of game birds that nest on the ground are in danger of being wiped out because some stupid assed liberal decided that he knew so much better than all of those who came before him even though he never had any idea how the species he wanted to reintroduce, or save lived before. ERGO leave shit alone and bad shit happens much less that when you stir the shit liberal. I know it's impossible since your small brain and big ego drive you to act on your stupidity with no regard for the consequences.

 

[Crick]

Environmentalist, and other cry wolfers are the PROBLEM, not the answer. The aforementioned caused the banning of DDT, because some ignorant writer decided that if it killed Mosquitos, it MUST kill everything else, WRONG.

Yes, you are wrong. DDT was banned because the process of biological magnification caused excessive levels to build in animals at the top of the food chain. In birds, this led to egg shells too thin to support the weight of their mothers. The brown pelican, the peregrine falcon and the bald eagle were nearly driven extinct by the effects of DDT that had accumulated in the fish they ate. It's use had become so widespread that levels not allowed in food stuffs were found in human mother's milk. DDT is still used by other nations, particularly for control of malaria.

As liberal shit jumped through their ass all over the world, the BEST defense the world has ever seen against mosquito borne illness was banned and became unavailable.

Wrong again.

By 2004, 180 nations including the EU has signed the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. The Convention still allowed the use of DDT for malaria control. The US was NOT a signatory. The US had passed its own statute in 1972 which banned the use of DDT in agriculture.

Where I lived we used to ride our bikes in the fog, and guess what we are still here 50 or 60 years later. BUT about 100 million children and seniors are not because of mosquito borne illness. The Department of interior decided that the coyotes needed to be reintroduced in many areas where they had been eradicated and they did so. Now the Rabbit population is very low, the Quail population is almost nonexistent, and a lot of game birds that nest on the ground are in danger of being wiped out because some stupid assed liberal decided that he knew so much better than all of those who came before him even though he never had any idea how the species he wanted to reintroduce, or save lived before. ERGO leave shit alone and bad shit happens much less that when you stir the shit liberal. I know it's impossible since your small brain and big ego drive you to act on your stupidity with no regard for the consequences.

Why do you regard the eradication of the coyote as "leaving shit alone"?

 

[12icer]

You need to read the REAL science, and research that has been done on the use of DDT to control mosquito population worldwide and save millions of people from mosquito borne disease. The eradication of the coyote was and still is a GOOD thing, and the "conservationist" who reintroduce predatory species put stress on many types of OTHER wildlife and apparently like most liberal idiots never do enough research to follow their actions to their logical conclusion OR consider the changes in environmental areas they reintroduce the species to. As example the Coyote was reintroduced to lands that were not heavily populated when they were eradicated from the areas. There was a food supply consisting of migratory birds, some livestock, and small animals of all types reptilian, mammal, insect, ETC. They did not have expansive garbage dumps to frequent for an exceptionally large supply of food. They also didn't have the extensive confined space menu of commercial livestock production. This led as to a rapid population growth as anyone with a mutiplanic mental capacity would have instantly ascertained before the action. That being posted, removing a threat to existence of your livestock and competition for family food sources IS not leaving shit alone, but it is a reasonable action to take. Introducing a threat to livestock, and a competitor for food is NOT, especially when the reintroduction causes a rapid overpopulation of a potentially dangerous predatory animal of ANY kind.

 

[Crick]

"The eradication of the coyote was and still is a good thing"'

Can you identify for us a predator that does NOT put stress on other species? You're completely ignoring the effect on other species - like the entire rodentia clan (one of the primary foods of coyotes) - when coyotes were removed from the environment. Here, from Wikipedia:

Diet
The coyote is roughly the North American equivalent to the Old World golden jackal.[96] Likewise, the coyote is highly versatile in its choice of food, but is primarily carnivorous, with 90% of its diet consisting of animal meat. Prey species include bison, deer, sheep, rabbits, rodents, birds, amphibians (except toads), lizards, snakes, fish, crustaceans, and insects. Coyotes may be picky over the prey they target, as animals such as shrews, moles, and brown rats do not occur in their diet in proportion to their numbers.[21] More unusual prey include fishers,[97] young black bear cubs,[98] harp seals[99] and rattlesnakes. Coyotes kill rattlesnakes mostly for food (but also to protect their pups at their dens) by teasing the snakes until they stretch out and then biting their heads and snapping and shaking the snakes.[100] In Death Valley, coyotes may consume great quantities of hawkmoth caterpillars or beetles in the spring flowering months.[101] Although coyotes prefer fresh meat, they will scavenge when the opportunity presents itself. Excluding the insects, fruit, and grass eaten, the coyote requires an estimated 600 g (1.3 lb) of food daily, or 250 kg (550 lb) annually.[21] The coyote readily cannibalizes the carcasses of conspecifics, with coyote fat having been successfully used by coyote hunters as a lure or poisoned bait.[5] The coyote's winter diet consists mainly of large ungulate carcasses, with very little plant matter. Rodent prey increases in importance during the spring, summer, and fall.[3]

The coyote feeds on a variety of different produce, including blackberries, blueberries, peaches, pears, apples, prickly pears, chapotes, persimmons, peanuts, watermelons, cantaloupes, and carrots. During the winter and early spring, the coyote eats large quantities of grass, such as green wheat blades. It sometimes eats unusual items such as cotton cake, soybean meal, domestic animal droppings, beans, and cultivated grain such as corn, wheat, and sorghum.[21]

DDT has been replaced by several other compounds which lack it's environmental persistence [Organophosphate and carbamate insecticides, e.g. malathion and bendiocarb, and pyrethroids such as deltamethrin) but may still be used, per the Stockholm convention, for use in malarial disease vector control. The US ban also still allows the use of DDT for disease vector control. It has recently been used in California to eliminate a flea problem threatening a spread of bubonic plague.

 

[miketx]

From CNN

Sixth extinction: 20 years to stop ecological collapse - CNN.com

"(CNN)The Earth's next mass extinction -- the first caused by people -- is on the horizon. And the consequences are almost unthinkably dire: Three-quarters of species could disappear.

This has happened only five times in the planet's history -- including the mass extinction that killed the dinosaurs.
What's different now is that humans are causing these changes."

...

"Another frightening data point in this trend toward extinction emerged on Thursday in a report from the World Wildlife Fund, an environmental advocacy group. The report claims 58% declines in certain vertebrate animal populations since 1970 and says that if trends continue, then two-thirds of all of these individual birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles and mammals will be gone by 2020."

...

"I agree with Pimm that these numbers can be misleading, but that's only if people misunderstand them. I also spoke with Anthony Barnosky, executive director of the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve at Stanford University. He told me the most important thing to remember is that this report is limited in scope -- it has little data from some important tropical regions, for example, and only covers animals with backbones. But it highlights an important and little-considered fact: It's not just that species are going extinct at an alarming rate -- at least 100 times what could be considered "normal," and maybe much higher than that -- but that populations of still-common animals are declining very rapidly."

"Species are going extinct at... at least 100 times what could be consideered "normal"" Nothing to worry about. Man's influence on the climate is beneficial to life. God guarantees it.

Right.

What does the peterpuffingtonpost say on this?

 

[Crick]

I presume you mean Huffington Post. Are they specialists in this area?

I have a confession to make. Though I am certain I have read excerpts and quotations from them, I have never once been to the Huffington Post or Drudge Reports websites. My understanding is that the former has a liberal background but that it has become more objective since being bought by USA Today (a slightly conservative organization) but that Drudge Report was and remains a conservative "news aggregator". I can't imagine why I should give a shit about either of their opinions concerning DDT and coyotes.

So, why do you ask?

 

[Old Rocks]

You need to read the REAL science, and research that has been done on the use of DDT to control mosquito population worldwide and save millions of people from mosquito borne disease. The eradication of the coyote was and still is a GOOD thing, and the "conservationist" who reintroduce predatory species put stress on many types of OTHER wildlife and apparently like most liberal idiots never do enough research to follow their actions to their logical conclusion OR consider the changes in environmental areas they reintroduce the species to. As example the Coyote was reintroduced to lands that were not heavily populated when they were eradicated from the areas. There was a food supply consisting of migratory birds, some livestock, and small animals of all types reptilian, mammal, insect, ETC. They did not have expansive garbage dumps to frequent for an exceptionally large supply of food. They also didn't have the extensive confined space menu of commercial livestock production. This led as to a rapid population growth as anyone with a mutiplanic mental capacity would have instantly ascertained before the action. That being posted, removing a threat to existence of your livestock and competition for family food sources IS not leaving shit alone, but it is a reasonable action to take. Introducing a threat to livestock, and a competitor for food is NOT, especially when the reintroduction causes a rapid overpopulation of a potentially dangerous predatory animal of ANY kind.

Son of a bitch. Got down to your 'eradication of coyote is a good thing', went no further. If you are that stupid, I don't need to read the rest of your idiocy. There was an area in Oregon where they succeeded in doing exactly that. And in two years they were direly missing those coyotes, because rodents were taking over the agriculture. So they had to introduce coyotes to the area again. People like you are beyond stupid.