More evidence points towards 6th great extinction

The Alaotra grebe of Madagascar has now been officially declared as extinct with some scientist declaring this as further proof to back up the belief that we are seeing the biggest mass extinction in 65 million years.

www.independent.co.uk...


Human activity is responsible for the current decline in Biodiversity due to varying reasons...

Agriculture and logging destroying rain forests, Introduction of foreign species into eco systems as attempts to control nature, Over fishing, Pollution, acidification of the oceans, mono culture farming, pesticides... All part of the problem currently affecting life on earth.

We are out of balance with our world!

reply to post by Muckster


Oh, C`Mon!!!!
What is happening?? (stupid question, I know )

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/3891d730819a.jpg[/atsimg]
Such a beautiful animal.



[edit on 26/5/10 by sandri_90]

Originally posted by Muckster
Human activity is responsible for the current decline in Biodiversity due to varying reasons...

We are out of balance with our world!

I couldn't agree more with either statement. A humble S&F for you.

I had just read this article from the NYTimes.

The gambling website PaddyPower.com placed odds today on what species would be first to become extinct as a result of crude belching from BP PLC's ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico.

How sick is it that we are placing bets on what will become extinct first from our own actions? I'm at a loss for words..


Edited to fix link to article.


[edit on 26-5-2010 by broahes]

reply to post by broahes


That is unbelievable

What type of mentality bets on such a thing?? I really struggle to understand some people...

broahes, you may be interested in another thread i started a while back regarding this topic...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Its a bit long but if you get the time have a read



[edit on 26-5-2010 by Muckster]

At worldometers it estimates 55,452 species extinct this year alone! At the time of writing.
www.worldometers.info...

It's obviously an estimate. I don't know what to think about that. That number is so huge I find it hard to believe. If it's anywhere near the truth, we are in serious trouble.

[edit on 26-5-2010 by squiz]

It's extremely sad because it points out to a destruction of ecosystems in Madagascar, which is home to an impressive number of endemic species (species that are found nowhere else).

If this one species went, others will soon follow

reply to post by squiz


Extinction is a natural process, 99.9% of all life that has ever existed on earth is now extinct. Thousands upon thousands of species would die every year with or without humans...although no doubt we had a helping hand in a few of them. It's no different than any other species becoming dominant and driving another species to extinction because of it though.

reply to post by Solomons


Death is a natural part of life... However, if a doctor told you that eating a certain food was killing you, would you stop eating that type of food? or just think "oh well it’s a natural cycle, may as well just carry on"

It's no different than any other species becoming dominant and driving another species to extinction because of it though.

Its completely different... We are the first species to be conscious and aware of the damage that we are doing! We are also the only species that has the ability to change by choice!

[edit on 26-5-2010 by Muckster]

Originally posted by Solomons
reply to post by squiz

 

Extinction is a natural process, 99.9% of all life that has ever existed on earth is now extinct. Thousands upon thousands of species would die every year with or without humans...although no doubt we had a helping hand in a few of them. It's no different than any other species becoming dominant and driving another species to extinction because of it though.

Sorry but i disagree... look at what we humans have created on this planet and you will see why there are species going extinct today... in fact, take a look at the Gorillas and Monkey's, they were here way before us yet they are dying out.... only now they are dying out and this is due to hunting and deforestation!!

That's just 2 examples but you look at all the chemicals that man is putting out into the Atmosphere and you'll see the reasons for many more species disappearing.

reply to post by Solomons


There's hardly anything natural about artificially introducing a new species of fish to a habitat, and then using artificialnylon nets to catch the fish, which incidentally also kills the native birds, driving them completely extinct.

Humans are spawned from nature, so I guess you could call it natural.
If we cause our own decline, mass die off or extinction from causing an eco collapse, I suppose you could call that natural too.

And fitting with natural law I'd say.

reply to post by TruthxIsxInxThexMist


I did not deny that we are the cause of some extinctions, simply stating that thousands of species will become extinct every year with or without us. Many people seem to have this idea that it wouldn't happen if it wasn't for us pesky humans, or that the majority of extinctions are our fault when they are actually the minority.

[edit on 26-5-2010 by Solomons]

Well to put it in perspective, the fear is that we are in the midst of another great extinction event. The 6th in the history of the Earth they say. Something the likes of which hasn't occured for 65 million years.

True? no one wants it to be true. I don't think losing 100's of thousands of species a year is natural at all. All past great extinction events are connected to large scale environmental changes one way or the other.

So what's going on with the environment now, or rather the last 100 years or so? Count the ways, no medals for answering that one.

reply to post by Solomons

simply stating that thousands of species will become extinct every year with or without us. Many people seem to have this idea that it wouldn't happen if it wasn't for us pesky humans, or that the majority of extinctions are our fault when they are actually the minority.

Care to back that statement up with anything?

Most of the current extinction ARE due to human activity...

U.N. report: Eco-systems at 'tipping point'

Half of mammals 'in decline', says extinction Red List

Loss of Biodiversity and Extinctions

Humans driving extinction faster than species can evolve, say experts

A wave of discovery – and extinction

Biodiversity: The sixth great wave

The Earth's 6th Great Mass Extinction is Occurring as You Read This

The 6th Extinction and Protected Areas

reply to post by Solomons


How can you say that?

I'll go by my example above... apparently before humans there were Primates which were in abundance with no humans to hunt them down or any human to cut down their habitat but now, yes even now you still see Apes being hunted and the Human destroying their habitat... it's right there in front of you... you want all nature to be gone from this World? Because it will be gone if we continue to deforest and build all over it!!!

I WON'T POST ANY LINKS COZ MUCKSTER HAS DONE THAT ABOVE ME.

And btw havn't you seen the mess in the Gulf recently? What has caused that? Will there not be mass amounts of species affected because of what the Human has done there?

Originally posted by Muckster
we are seeing the biggest mass extinction in 65 million years.

Ironic how that 65 million years is close to an entire galactic cycle which is = to 64 million years which also is close I do believe to reaching its current full cycle pretty soon.

The University of California, Berkeley found that marine fossil records show that biodiversity increases and decreases based on a 62-million-year cycle. At least two of the Earth's great mass extinctions-the Permian extinction 250 million years ago and the Ordovician extinction about 450 million years ago-correspond with peaks of this cycle, which can't be explained by evolutionary theory.

Early last year, a team of researchers at the University of Kansas came up with an out-of-this-world explanation for the phenomenon. Their idea hinges upon the fact that stars move through space and sometimes rush headlong through galaxies, or approach closely enough to cause a brief cosmic tryst.

Our own star moves toward and away from the Milky Way's center, and also up and down through the galactic plane. One complete up-and-down cycle takes 64 million years- suspiciously close to the Earth's biodiversity cycle.

Once the researchers independently confirmed the biodiversity cycle, they then proposed a novel mechanism whereby which the Sun's galactic travels is causing it.

It’s no secret that the Milky Way is being gravitationally pulled toward a massive cluster of galaxies, called the Virgo Cluster, which is located about 50 million light years away. Adrian Melott of the University of Kansas and his colleague Mikhail Medvedev, speculate that as the Milky Way rushes towards the Virgo Cluster, it generates a so-called bow shock in front of it that is similar to the shock wave created by a supersonic jet.

Our solar system has a shock wave around it, and it produces a good quantity of the cosmic rays that hit the Earth.

The galactic bow shock is only present on the north side of the Milky Way's galactic plane, because that is the side facing the Virgo Cluster as it moves through space, and it would cause superheated gas and cosmic rays to stream behind it, the researchers say. Normally, our galaxy's magnetic field shields our solar system from this "galactic wind." But every 64 million years, the solar system's cyclical travels take it above the galactic plane.

When we emerge out of the disk, we have less protection, so we become exposed to many more cosmic rays.

The boost in cosmic-ray exposure may have a direct effect on Earth's organisms, according to paleontologist Bruce Lieberman. The radiation would lead to higher rates of genetic mutations in organisms or interfere with their ability to repair DNA damage. In this way, the process could lead to new species while killing off others. I find the last sentence very interesting especially if it applied to humanity.




[edit on 5/26/10 by Ophiuchus 13]

The gambling website PaddyPower.com placed odds today on what species would be first to become extinct as a result of crude belching from BP PLC's ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico.

How sick is it that we are placing bets on what will become extinct first from our own actions? I'm at a loss for words..

[edit on 26-5-2010 by broahes]

That is truly disgusting! What the hell is wrong with people?

It makes me sad when I hear things about animals becoming extinct. I find that I like animals more than people most of the time...

Well,they are constantly "discovering"new species of life somewhere on this planet.

It makes me wonder how many "undiscovered"species became extinct before they had a chance to be discovered?

There is such a huge diversity of life on this planet that is constantly evolving.

I am not sure why we humans get all excited about the loss of a few species.

It is a NATURAL part of the evolutionary process.

Always has been, always will be.

"Men go and come, but Earth abides".

reply to post by Solomons


As of now, sure. We only cause a small number directly. Think about this though. We will keep chopping, spilling, dumping, polluting etc. We may be the cause of a minuscule number now, but mark my words if we continue upon this path this planet will be 100% uninhabitable. It's getting worse, where will it be in 50 years? Where will it be when the water becomes undrinkable?

There are 100's of ways to analyze this problem.

Can we blame alot of the extinction on Modern Humans destructive ways?
Of course.

Can we say it's a natural cycle and 1000's of species go extinct every year?
Of course.


BUT: The biggest threat is Human consumption on the grande scale.
Face facts here.
Humans have a need to consume. Not only to destroy.
When we have billions of people that need shelter, food and clothing...
We do anything in our power to obtain these things.
De-forestation, Pollution, Water contamination, chemically altering weather, etc.

I say, Modern humans (the last 200 years) have lead to more extinction than anything else.

If you alter a cycle, by interfering with nature, you do more than destroy a species.

Look at Honeybees. I say we are 100% to blame. Not extinct quite yet, though.
That's only one.

It's all about the Almighty Dollar.

Who cares about the Earth when you can make a buck.