{"id":46811,"date":"2017-07-14T10:31:07","date_gmt":"2017-07-14T14:31:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/planetsave.com\/?p=46811"},"modified":"2017-07-14T10:34:03","modified_gmt":"2017-07-14T14:34:03","slug":"is-the-world-on-the-verge-of-a-sixth-mass-extinction-scientists-say-yes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/planetsave.com\/articles\/is-the-world-on-the-verge-of-a-sixth-mass-extinction-scientists-say-yes\/","title":{"rendered":"Is The World On The Verge Of A Sixth Mass Extinction? Scientists Say Yes"},"content":{"rendered":"
Most of us do not spend our waking hours reading the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States. Certainly no one in the #FakeTrump administration does, as they are too busy lining their own pockets at public expense and practicing the art of self aggrandizement. But if we did, we might have come across an item entitled “Biological annihilation via the ongoing sixth mass extinction signaled by vertebrate population losses and declines.”<\/a>\u00a0 Sounds like a real page turner, doesn’t it?<\/p>\n Articles written by scientists rarely evoke much passion and can be deathly dull and difficult to plow through. But this one merits your attention. Spend a moment reading the executive summary.<\/p>\n “The population extinction pulse we describe here shows, from a quantitative viewpoint, that Earth\u2019s sixth mass extinction is more severe than perceived when looking exclusively at species extinctions. Therefore, humanity needs to address anthropogenic population extirpation and decimation immediately.<\/p>\n “That conclusion is based on analyses of the numbers and degrees of range contraction (indicative of population shrinkage and\/or population extinctions according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature) using a sample of 27,600 vertebrate species, and on a more detailed analysis documenting the population extinctions between 1900 and 2015 in 177 mammal species.<\/p>\n “We find that the rate of population loss in terrestrial vertebrates is extremely high — even in \u201cspecies of low concern.\u201d In our sample, comprising nearly half of known vertebrate species, 32% (8,851\/27,600) are decreasing; that is, they have decreased in population size and range. In the 177 mammals for which we have detailed data, all have lost 30% or more of their geographic ranges and more than 40% of the species have experienced severe population declines (>80% range shrinkage).<\/p>\n “Our data indicate that beyond global species extinctions Earth is experiencing a huge episode of population declines and extirpations, which will have negative cascading consequences on ecosystem functioning and services vital to sustaining civilization (<\/em>emphasis added). We describe this as a ‘biological annihilation’ to highlight the current magnitude of Earth\u2019s ongoing sixth major extinction event.\u00a0A ‘biological annihilation’ of wildlife in recent decades means a sixth mass extinction in Earth\u2019s history is under way and is more severe than previously feared, according to research.<\/p>\n Time is a curious thing. We think because a weather event is classified as a “100 year storm,” that means if we had one yesterday, we won’t have another until one hundred years from now. That impression is false. The odds of a 100 year storm are exactly the same the day after the storm as they were before it.<\/p>\n Similarly, when we hear about mass extinctions that happened millions of years ago, we assume another one can’t be happening today because the odds of one taking place during the little wink of time when we happen to be alive seem impossibly small. But if the authors of this report are correct, that is precisely what is happening.<\/p>\n Let’s take a little trip back in time to identify the five prior mass extinctions that scientists say happened. Of course, none of this will be comprehensible to those who hold with the notion that the world was created just 7,000 years ago and that humans once rode to work on the backs of dinosaurs. For them, all science is just a theory, in the same way that apples fall from trees because of gravity is a theory and the notion that the earth revolves around the sun is a theory.<\/p>\n End Ordovician, c. 443 million years ago<\/strong><\/p>\n A severe ice age caused sea levels to fall 350 \u00a0feet, wiping out up to 70% of all species, most of whom lived in the ocean. The ice melted soon afterwards (in geological terms), which left the restored oceans critically short of oxygen.<\/p>\n Late Devonian, c. 360 million years ago<\/strong><\/p>\n A prolonged climate change event hit life in shallow areas of the oceans very hard and killed 70% of species including almost all coral reefs.<\/p>\n Permian-Triassic, c. 250 million years ago<\/strong><\/p>\n 95% of all species on earth perished during this event, including trilobites and giant insects. Scientists believe this extinction was brought about because of massive volcanic eruptions in Siberia that caused extreme global warming.<\/p>\n Triassic-Jurassic, c 200 million years ago<\/strong><\/p>\n Once again, 75% of all species were killed off as the result of volcanic activity. As we all know from Jurassic Park, the dinosaurs ruled the earth afterwards.<\/p>\n Cretaceous-Tertiary, 65 million years ago<\/strong><\/p>\n A combination of a giant asteroid impact on Mexico and large volcanic eruptions in what is now India brought about the end of dinosaurs and ammonites. Mammals appeared and eventually human beings appeared.<\/p>\n So here we are 65 million years later and the research shows another period of mass extinctions is upon us. Just our luck to be born at the wrong time, huh? The scientists found that a third of the thousands of species losing populations are not currently considered endangered and that up to 50% of all individual animals have been lost in recent decades. Detailed data is available for land mammals, and almost half of these have lost 80% of their range in the last century. Prof Gerardo Ceballos, at the Universidad Nacional Aut\u00f3noma de M\u00e9xico, who led the research study, says, \u201cThe situation has become so bad it would not be ethical not to use strong language.\u201d<\/p>\n The scientists found billions of populations of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians have been lost all over the planet, leading them to say a sixth mass extinction has already progressed further than was thought. Their report concludes, \u201cThe resulting biological annihilation obviously will have serious ecological, economic and social consequences. Humanity will eventually pay a very high price for the decimation of the only assemblage of life that we know of in the universe.\u201d<\/p>\n While all is not lost — yet — the prospects for a good outcome are dim. \u201cAll signs point to ever more powerful assaults on biodiversity in the next two decades, painting a dismal picture of the future of life, including human life.\u201d<\/p>\n Wildlife is dying out due to habitat destruction, over hunting, toxic pollution, invasion by alien species, and climate change<\/a>. Ultimately, the primary cause, according to the authors, is \u201chuman overpopulation and continued population growth, and overconsumption, especially by the rich.” One of the authors of the report is Stanford professor Paul Ehrlich. His book,\u00a0The Population Bomb<\/em>\u00a0published in 1968, is a seminal, if highly controversial, work.<\/p>\nThe Sixth Extinction Study<\/h3>\n
Five Previous Mass Extinction Periods<\/h3>\n
The Sixth Mass Extinction Report Findings<\/h3>\n
What Causes A Mass Extinction?<\/h3>\n