6th Great Extinction: Regime Change

[Tahir2]

Global situation

If this situation is reflected elsewhere in the globe, say the authors, it strengthens the view that the world is heading for the sixth mass extinction.

Other researchers have proposed the sixth mass extinction theory on the basis that global extinction rates are roughly two orders of magnitude greater than normal "background" rates of extinction observed in the past.

Dr Jeremy Thomas holds a selection of UK butterflies
The last of these events occurred 65 million years ago and resulted in the extinction of the dinosaurs.

"For any scientist to extrapolate from this to a world insect fauna is a huge jump. But it is the only firm evidence we've got at the moment," said Dr Thomas.

Lord May of Oxford, president of the Royal Society, the UK's academy of science, said: "These are dismaying trends. If this pattern holds more generally then estimates of global extinction rates - which are mainly based on birds and mammals - could err on the optimistic side."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3520372.stm

Sixth Great Extinction: Whatever will they think of next?

OK, it is only a theory and at the end (read the whole article) the majority of the blame is laid upon humans as usual. It looks like we can't get anything right..

Edit: copied the whole article by accident.

 

[epicstruggle]

I could have sworn that they debunked this theory lately (last 2 or 3 months). Ill have to do a search, but Im sure there were stories about this study not being accurate.

btw I think the first 5 mass extinction were just great, maybe a 6th will come and go and we wont really care either way.

later,
epic

 

[jvd]

The most likely way we are going to die is by our hands . We are very stupid and greed and lust cause many humans to screw up royaly .


Oh and i thought a comet or the likes hit the earth and killed the thunder lizards . Or was the ride in disney world lieing to me ?

 

[Tahir2]

lust cause many humans to screw

Yes... that is right.

 

[jvd]

lust cause many humans to screw

Yes... that is right.

Thats what i'm talking about

 

[DemoCoder]

It's always a fallacy to extrapolate exponential rates far into the future. They don't know if it will level off or not, as the species that are left are the ones that can coexist. Cockroaches, for example, aren't likely to be threatened.

 

[RussSchultz]

Cockroaches, for example, aren't likely to be threatened.

All hail our cockroach overlords!

 

[John Reynolds]

I always knew The Dark Crystal was prophetic.

 

[jvd]

Damn it john why did you have to bring that movie up . Now i'm going to have nightmares for a month. That thing freaks the hell out of me. That and the wizard of oz . I can't watch that movie. The flying monkeys are freaky too .

 

[Natoma]

There's a lot of circumstantial evidence in the fossil records that shows that wherever man ventured over the last tens of thousands of years, mass die offs seemed to occur in the indigenous population around the same time. Again, circumstantial, but rather powerful.

It would be sad if 100 years from now these predictions come to fruition because of our lack of environmental control. But hey, we'll all be dead by then so it's not our concern right?

p.s.: The Dark Crystal? Why does that sound familiar..... Cheesy 80s flick?

 

[Althornin]

The most likely way we are going to die is by our hands . We are very stupid and greed and lust cause many humans to screw up royaly .

bah.
Take some Prozium then.

 

[DemoCoder]

There's a lot of circumstantial evidence in the fossil records that shows that wherever man ventured over the last tens of thousands of years, mass die offs seemed to occur in the indigenous population around the same time. Again, circumstantial, but rather powerful.

And circumstantial evidence points to the human race having survived those die offs. Again, circumstantial, but rather powerful. Oh, we also survived other extrapolations, like the Population Bomb, the Limits to Growth, Club of Rome, and lots of Lester Thurow predictions.

Maybe one day, something will kill off the entire race. Perhaps global nuclear war or an asteroid strike. Gradual climate change isn't likely.

 

[Natoma]

I wasn't alluding to a subsequent die off of the human race.

 

[epicstruggle]

The only thing that _might_ kill off the human race is either a virus released by humans, or because we live so damn close to animals (chickens et al in china, or monkeys et al in africa). Who knows I might be wrong.

later,
epic

 

[nutball]

Maybe one day, something will kill off the entire race. Perhaps global nuclear war or an asteroid strike. Gradual climate change isn't likely.

Soap operas will kill off the human race.

 

[London Geezer]

Sorry to sound ignorant, but what/when were the other 5?

Also, if there is something that's gonna kill us all, it has to be Gay Marriage.








(And to everyone who will not get the sarcasm, I'M KIDDING of course)

 

[epicstruggle]

Sorry to sound ignorant, but what/when were the other 5?

Also, if there is something that's gonna kill us all, it has to be Gay Marriage.








(And to everyone who will not get the sarcasm, I'M KIDDING of course)

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/planetearth/extinction_sidebar_000907.html

Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction, about 65 million years ago, probably caused or aggravated by impact of several-mile-wide asteroid that created the Chicxulub crater now hidden on the Yucatan Peninsula and beneath the Gulf of Mexico. Some argue for other causes, including gradual climate change or flood-like volcanic eruptions of basalt lava from India?s Deccan Traps. The extinction killed 16 percent of marine families, 47 percent of marine genera (the classification above species) and 18 percent of land vertebrate families, including the dinosaurs.

End Triassic extinction, roughly 199 million to 214 million years ago, most likely caused by massive floods of lava erupting from the central Atlantic magmatic province -- an event that triggered the opening of the Atlantic Ocean. The volcanism may have led to deadly global warming. Rocks from the eruptions now are found in the eastern United States, eastern Brazil, North Africa and Spain. The death toll: 22 percent of marine families, 52 percent of marine genera. Vertebrate deaths are unclear.

Permian-Triassic extinction, about 251 million years ago. Many scientists suspect a comet or asteroid impact, although direct evidence has not been found. Others believe the cause was flood volcanism from the Siberian Traps and related loss of oxygen in the seas. Still others believe the impact triggered the volcanism and also may have done so during the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction. The Permian-Triassic catastrophe was Earth?s worst mass extinction, killing 95 percent of all species, 53 percent of marine families, 84 percent of marine genera and an estimated 70 percent of land species such as plants, insects and vertebrate animals.

Late Devonian extinction, about 364 million years ago, cause unknown. It killed 22 percent of marine families and 57 percent of marine genera. Erwin said little is known about land organisms at the time.

Ordovician-Silurian extinction, about 439 million years ago, caused by a drop in sea levels as glaciers formed, then by rising sea levels as glaciers melted. The toll: 25 percent of marine families and 60 percent of marine genera.

Please visit the url above so they get the hit.

[off topic]btw gay marriage isnt going to end life, but family structure. [/off topic]

later,
epic
edit: before someone jumps down my throat. Please note that there are other factors that I feel are more detramental to family stability/structure. Gay marriage isnt in the top 3.

 

[VtC]

There's a lot of circumstantial evidence in the fossil records that shows that wherever man ventured over the last tens of thousands of years, mass die offs seemed to occur in the indigenous population around the same time. Again, circumstantial, but rather powerful.

And that same evidence indicates that human-based extinctions peak rapidly and don't progress to a broad range of species. Of course, if you're a wooly mammoth or other type of megafauna that may not be very comforting.

Besides cockroaches, pigeons (not passenger pigeons, of course) and whitetail deer seem to be doing pretty well. It's estimated there are more deer in the US now than when the first Europeans arrived. Ask any suburban gardener!