Earth on track for epic die-off, scientists say

Saturday, December 19, 2009
If the course of human history is any model, then the wheels are already turning on Earth's sixth mass extinction, thanks to habitat destruction, pollution and now global warming, a scientific analysis of millions of years of data revealed Friday.

The study of the fossil and archaeological record over the past 30 million years by UC Berkeley and Penn State University researchers shows that between 15 and 42 percent of the mammals in North America disappeared after humans arrived.

That means North American mammals are well on the way - perhaps as much as half way - to a level of extinction comparable to other epic die-offs, like the one that wiped out the dinosaurs.

Anthony Barnosky, a UC Berkeley professor of integrative biology and co-author of the study, said the most dramatic human-caused impacts on the ecosystem have occurred in the last century.

"We are seeing a lot of geographic range reductions that are of a greater magnitude than we would expect, and we are seeing loss of subspecies and even a few species," Barnosky said. "So it looks like we are going into another one of these extinction events."

www.sfgate.com...

Read more:

www.sfgate.com...

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/df67f7a238ba.jpg[/atsimg]
A reconstructed scene in the Pleistocene of western North America, showing a group of three sabertooth cats (Smilodon fatalis). The species went extinct soon after humans arrived on the continent 13,000 years ago (Artwork by Mauricio Anton).

Certainly hope we are not on the way to a mass die off, wouldn't surprise me if we were..




[edit on 21-12-2009 by Aquarius1]

reply to post by Aquarius1


Funny thing, humans can adapt to any climate, so I guess the polar bears will be dying off faster than thought.

reply to post by Aquarius1


I realy had no idea that POLLUTION and GREENHOUSE GASSES could cause a meteor to hit earth? Those damn dinosaurs and their polluting ways.

MessOnTheFED!

Originally posted by MessOnTheFED!
reply to post by Aquarius1

 

I realy had no idea that POLLUTION and GREENHOUSE GASSES could cause a meteor to hit earth?

Those damn dinosaurs and their polluting ways.

MessOnTheFED!

Pull your head out and read what its talking about. If you think that humans don't have an impact on species you are nuts. Even if you deny all global warming you still are left with man kind pushing farther into the forests and natural habitats to build house and roads along with other projects or even farm lands. We also use chemicals that cause whole species to die off without understanding the effects it has on a ecosystem.

Look at all the species that have died just because of the clear cutting of the rain forests alone.

I'm sure you will have some witty response about how it is tied to Obama and Man made global warming is farce and man has no effect on its environment what so ever.

[edit on 21-12-2009 by anon72]

reply to post by whoshotJR


No Brother im not retarded. Im perfectly aware that mankind has Effed many species in the A. Some of it is directly linked to OUR habits. This thing that you speak of is called DEVELOPMENT. It happens everywhere. It will continue until we are all dead or most of us are dead and the ones left are ruled by some clever mastermind. Global Warming is REAL it is the people that are FAKE.

MessOnTheFED!

[edit on 21-12-2009 by MessOnTheFED!]

reply to post by whoshotJR


what an accurate study btw... between 15 and 45 pct ... what a joke. Sounds like propaganda to me ... and yes we all know that plenty of species have gone extinct becuase of man ... this study is such crap

reply to post by whoshotJR


Please would you guys stop beating a dead horse the game is over you lost. Climate gate put a fork in you guys and you don't even realize it the definition of crazy is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Is that not what you are doing with the whole man-made climate crap. You guys are worse than slaves because at least they knew where they stood you guys don't even see the game you are pawns in. I truly feel sorry for the whole lot of you believing so strongly in a lie you try to make the facts fit. I hate them for doing this to you stop being a victim get some help.

reply to post by Aquarius1


Another great thread Aquarius1.

A little off track, but going down the same road is this article about another species of animal just got wiped out by a hunter in China; in this particular case it was a species of Tiger.

xmb.stuffucanuse.com...

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/a2892b3fcbee.jpg[/atsimg]

Originally posted by Subjective Truth
reply to post by whoshotJR

 

Please would you guys stop beating a dead horse the game is over you lost. Climate gate put a fork in you guys and you don't even realize it the definition of crazy is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Is that not what you are doing with the whole man-made climate crap. You guys are worse than slaves because at least they knew where they stood you guys don't even see the game you are pawns in. I truly feel sorry for the whole lot of you believing so strongly in a lie you try to make the facts fit. I hate them for doing this to you stop being a victim get some help.

Really? Can you even read? My post talks about mans impact on animals and the environment that causes the extinction of species. I'm not talking about man made global warming although I do feel we have an impact. What that impact is can be debated and has.

Definition of crazy for you, so you can stop telling people something that is wrong( like your climate facts).
dictionary.reference.com...

1. mentally deranged; demented; insane.
2. senseless; impractical; totally unsound: a crazy scheme.
3. Informal. intensely enthusiastic; passionately excited: crazy about baseball.
4. Informal. very enamored or infatuated (usually fol. by about): He was crazy about her.
5. Informal. intensely anxious or eager; impatient: I'm crazy to try those new skis.
6. Informal. unusual; bizarre; singular: She always wears a crazy hat.
7. Slang. wonderful; excellent; perfect: That's crazy, man, crazy.
8. likely to break or fall to pieces.
9. weak, infirm, or sickly.
10. having an unusual, unexpected, or random quality, behavior, result, pattern, etc.: a crazy reel that spins in either direction.

Most people say it is the definition of insanity and that is incorrect also.

[edit on 23-12-2009 by whoshotJR]

Saturday, December 19, 2009 If the course of human history is any model, then the wheels are already turning on Earth's sixth mass extinction

They have been saying this for the last 10-15 years at least.

reply to post by Doc Tesla


I adore the sceptical hippo. S & F to you, Doc.

BTW, to people who think humans can survive drastic climate change, I don't believe we can.

Maybe it is time to rub out the whole mess and start again?

reply to post by whoshotJR


Well, why don't you contribute by having no computer and not using the internet?.... Or is that too much to ask of you?

You want to demand everyone else to do something but you do nothing at all except cuss at mankind?...

[edit on 23-12-2009 by ElectricUniverse]

reply to post by watcher73


They have been claiming this since the 1940s-1950s....

They were claiming that the Earth would not support life , and there would be massive die-offs in the 1980s... and nothing happened...

Then the date was moved to the 1990s...then 2000...

This is nothing more than scaremongering imo.

Species do die off, and new ones replace them. It has been happening even before mankind was around.

Originally posted by ElectricUniverse
reply to post by whoshotJR

 

Well, why don't you contribute by having no computer and not using the internet?.... Or is that too much to ask of you?

You want to demand everyone else to do something but you do nothing at all except cuss at mankind?...

[edit on 23-12-2009 by ElectricUniverse]

What did I demand people do? What did you contribute with this post yourself? I stated my opinion on it, did you have a point to debate on it that I could address?

It is a high probability that man will at some point in time, no longer exist. If climate models are correct that are used to show man made global warming then that could be a trigger, I would agree to that. Now if there is still global warming and its not man made but say controlled by the solar cycles then I would still theorize that man would be a trigger for species to die off at a faster rate and possibly causing an extinction event. We consume resources at a higher rate so if the planet was going through a massive increase in heat then man would probably do what ever it could to get what it needs to survive. If that came at the expense of species of animals we have proven we wouldn't care and would still move forward.

My replies above are to posters that instantly went into global warming is a farce mode, rather then discuss the topic at hand. Global extinction events have been on a rather standard cycle it seems and this is not due to man, or maybe we will find out in some odd way it is. Anything is possible, just not everything is probable.

[edit on 23-12-2009 by whoshotJR]

Originally posted by whoshotJR

Originally posted by MessOnTheFED!
reply to post by Aquarius1

 

I realy had no idea that POLLUTION and GREENHOUSE GASSES could cause a meteor to hit earth?

Those damn dinosaurs and their polluting ways.

MessOnTheFED!

Pull your head out and read what its talking about. If you think that humans don't have an impact on species you are nuts. Even if you deny all global warming you still are left with man kind pushing farther into the forests and natural habitats to build house and roads along with other projects or even farm lands. We also use chemicals that cause whole species to die off without understanding the effects it has on a ecosystem.

Look at all the species that have died just because of the clear cutting of the rain forests alone.

I'm sure you will have some witty response about how it is tied to Obama and Man made global warming is farce and man has no effect on its environment what so ever.

Do you know how many species exist?

No.

Neither does anyone else.

New species are discovered daily, and species become extinct every year.

If you've heard of a chap called Darwin, you should prehaps try reading his works before making a sweepin generalisation.


No-one is saying that man has no effect on his environment, but guess what?
SO DOES EVERY OTHER LIVING CREATURE.

Damn those pesky termites and their production of global warming gasses - yeah, let's wipe out all the termites and all other methane producing species, because methane is a far more potent greenhouse gas than CO2.

The arrogance of humans never fails to amaze me - of course we're SO very important that it MUST be all our fault...

reply to post by Aquarius1


Big Problem with this Post.

That only takes into account wild animals. We as a whole do not eat wild animals. The billions of pigs, cattle, chickens and other farm mass produced animals that feed us are in no danger at all believe me.

And domestic pets. My point is that if all the other animals die off it won't effect us much at all. We do not rely on wild animals anymore.

[edit on 23-12-2009 by JohnPhoenix]

reply to post by whoshotJR


Maybe you need to re-read my post I did not give any climate facts. I don't pretend to be a scientist but I can tell when I am being lied to. And I love your list did you make it for me or yourself? I actually feel sorry for you guys and I am not kidding to invest so much into something and then to find out it is a lie must be heartbreaking. But beating a dead horse will never bring back the good old days when we blindly followed. The time to turn the page has come but you want to live in the past like a ghost. I think maybe if you can not move on or see the truth and facts you might need some help if you have nothing to gain from this movement. I understand why the others want this crap they are making alot of money from the lies are you? And if you are not please get some help!!

reply to post by Subjective Truth


Clearly I made the list for you as you stated that a word means something it doesn't. I wanted to help educate you so you don't keep telling people wrong info.

You don't know my views on global warming or climate change yet you think you do and judge me and try and lump me into a group. You clearly state you have no real knowledge of the science of climate change yet you choose to try and demonize others that may or may not disagree with you? Make sure to check out the first part of assumption next time you make one.

I'm not even touching on climate changes, I'm speaking to mans clear effects he has on his environment and the ecosystems we change. You can separate out pollution being a problem that kills of species without needing to talk of global warming.