U of C Profs Unravel Extinction Mystery

U of C Profs Unravel Extinction Mystery

www.calgaryherald.com

Three University of Calgary researchers say they've uncovered proof of what led to the largest extinction the planet has ever experienced.

The wipeout happened 250 million years ago during the Permian Period - way before dinosaurs and way, way before people. The Permian extinction killed 95 % of life in the ocean and 70 % on land, but it has never been clear what really happened.

"The Permian extinction set the stage for the dinosaurs to take over," said Steve Grasby.

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
www.cbc.ca
www.vancouversun.com
www.torontosun.com

This is an interesting discovery. Before scientists were saying that an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs, which could be true.

New evidence now shows there was life that was wiped out before then that allowed for another life to begin.

That being the case, you have to wonder what sort of life was on Earth before the mass extinction. I am thinking Pandora from Avatar...but that's just me



www.calgaryherald.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

The volcanoes burned 300 trillion tonnes of coal, said Grasby. "It's well beyond what we burn today," said Grasby. "That puts more C02 (carbon dioxide) in the atmosphere, making an extraordinary impact on the environment." Coupled with a planet that was already heating up, these ash clouds had a broad impact on the earth and started suffocating land and sea Read more: www.calgaryherald.com...

So according to them we lost 99.6% of all the coal on earth - 250 million yrs ago - presumably the same in oil and Methane Clathydrates as well!

And they still manage to put in a bump for CO2/Warmism - most of what passes for geology is speculation and guesswork.

The new model, created by Dave Rutledge, chair of Caltech’s engineering and applied sciences division, suggests that humans will only pull up a total — including all past mining — of 662 billion tons of coal out of the Earth. The best previous estimate, from the World Energy Council, says that the world has almost 850 billion tons of coal still left to be mined.

www.wired.com...

reply to post by JohhnyBGood

First, I don't think this thread is intended to have a political discussion involving coal consumption and someone's opinion on global warming/ climate change whatever. I think we have threads for that topic around here.

That being said.
This is a very interesting story, especially since it coincides with Egyptian & Olmec/Aztec/Mayan beliefs about the previous stages of the earth. One of their cataclysms was the volcanoes I believe...
I'll check that out and get back here with it.

Originally posted by skylightsintheillions
reply to post by JohhnyBGood

 

First, I don't think this thread is intended to have a political discussion involving coal consumption and someone's opinion on global warming/ climate change whatever. I think we have threads for that topic around here.

That being said.
This is a very interesting story, especially since it coincides with Egyptian & Olmec/Aztec/Mayan beliefs about the previous stages of the earth. One of their cataclysms was the volcanoes I believe...
I'll check that out and get back here with it.

I pointedout the ludicrous guesstimates in that article, as well as thier gratuitous addition of GW groupthink into it.

Both valid and relevent points pertainingto the subject of the article!

Why you should see fit to poke your nose in is beyond me!

And then you have the ludicrous cheek to start adding comments ofyour own about ancient cultures beliefs!

reply to post by JohhnyBGood


My posted response was without any political slant which I noticed a bit of in yours. Nothing personal, mate. But it'd be a shame to divert the thread to political talks of global warming (no matter what is true of it).

It'd also be a shame to detract from this topic further with more arguments. Feel free to PM if you really want to continue discussing...not a personal jab.

Back to topic at hand....

The discovery is huge because it ties in with a lot of not only ANCIENT civilizations and religions, but religions that have carried into today and parts of which still exist. Religions which have had a profound impact on the way we live even today. It's very important to have what was once looked upon as myth, to be recognized in a scientific format, as at least partly proven.

OP, there have been a large number of mass extinctions. There were no intelligent lifeforms existing prior to this extinction, and it wasn't a "new type of life" that returned from the brink. The species that survived the extinction continued to evolve and restore biodiversity, exactly the same way that every other extinction event occured. Do some research on the topic. It's fascinating in its own right.