http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/29/sixth-great-extinction-species-disappearing_n_5412571.html
QuoteWASHINGTON (AP) â€" Species of plants and animals are becoming extinct at least 1,000 times faster than they did before humans arrived on the scene, and the world is on the brink of a sixth great extinction, a new study says.
The study looks at past and present rates of extinction and finds a lower rate in the past than scientists had thought. Species are now disappearing from Earth about 10 times faster than biologists had believed, said study lead author noted biologist Stuart Pimm of Duke University.
"We are on the verge of the sixth extinction," Pimm said from research at the Dry Tortugas. "Whether we avoid it or not will depend on our actions."
The work, published Thursday by the journal Science, was hailed as a landmark study by outside experts.
Pimm's study focused on the rate, not the number, of species disappearing from Earth. It calculated a "death rate" of how many species become extinct each year out of 1 million species.
In 1995, Pimm found that the pre-human rate of extinctions on Earth was about 1. But taking into account new research, Pimm and his colleagues refined that background rate to about 0.1.
Now, that death rate is about 100 to 1,000, Pimm said.
Numerous factors are combining to make species disappear much faster than before, said Pimm and co-author Clinton Jenkins of the Institute of Ecological Research in Brazil. But the No. 1 issue is habitat loss. Species are finding no place to live as more places are built up and altered by humans.
Add to that invasive species crowding out native species, climate change affecting where species can survive, and overfishing, Pimm said.
The buffy-tufted-ear marmoset is a good example, Jenkins said. Its habitat has shrunk because of development in Brazil, and a competing marmoset has taken over where it lives. Now ,it's on the international vulnerable list.
The oceanic white-tip shark used to be one of the most abundant predators on Earth and they have been hunted so much they are now rarely seen, said Dalhousie University marine biologist Boris Worm, who wasn't part of the study but praised it. "If we don't do anything, this will go the way of the dinosaurs."
Five times, a vast majority of the world's life has been snuffed out in what have been called mass extinctions, often associated with giant meteor strikes. About 66 million years ago, one such extinction killed off the dinosaurs and three out of four species on Earth. Around 252 million years ago, the Great Dying snuffed out about 90 percent of the world's species.
Pimm and Jenkins said there is hope. Both said the use of smartphones and applications such as iNaturalist will help ordinary people and biologists find species in trouble, they said. Once biologists know where endangered species are they can try to save habitats and use captive breeding and other techniques to save the species, they said.
One success story is the golden lion tamarin. Decades ago the tiny primates were thought to be extinct because of habitat loss, but they were then found in remote parts of Brazil, bred in captivity and biologists helped set aside new forests for them to live in, Jenkins said.
"Now there are more tamarins than there are places to put them," he said.
Hey, a little happy news for your Saturday morning. :biggrin:
I'm sure the thought of the Buffy Tufted Ear Marmoset dying off will get all those industrial billionaires all weepy and they will bend over backwards to save them. Or not. Like the Spotted Burrowing Owl or the California Condor, the loss of an individual species doesn't exactly raise dire warnings to most people. And in many cases, these animals are at the top of the food chain or were not numerous enough to have a large impact on the overall picture.
In any case, individual species die off is happening all the time; the rate of die off is now the problem. And yes, habitat is the big issue. Something most people don't see, at least in civilized areas. But as someone who spends time in the outdoors, I have seen it. I have seen animals dying of starvation because of overgrazing limited areas with too big a population, and so on.
I have also seen the impact of invasive species. 2 of my favorite fishing spots in Idaho were wiped out by a form of moss that somebody brought in on the bottom of their boat. The expense created dealing with it is another issue. Now to use a boat in Idaho, you have to stop at roadside checking points and have your boat looked at to see if you are bringing in anything.
People don't see this until it hits them in the pocketbook or something they like is no longer available at the store. Stick around. It will happen. When your can of pickeled Herring is replaced by a can of Asian Swamp Eel, you'll get the point.
There's too many people on the Earth. Figure out how to fix that and this will go away.
Quote from: KUSA on May 31, 2014, 12:29:06 PM
There's too many people on the Earth. Figure out how to fix that and this will go away.
A good first step would be dropping a nuke on Vatican City.
http://churchandstate.org.uk/2014/05/climate-change-and-church-state-separation/
Quote from: KUSA on May 31, 2014, 12:29:06 PM
There's too many people on the Earth. Figure out how to fix that and this will go away.
Cross breed humans with ocelots and then after mating, women will bite men's nuts off.
The Church being against birth control, and the quiver society, would be a start. Ignorant people that think the oceans are so huge and that there is so much land that over fishing and over population are not a problem, need to be educated that it is the decimating of resources and pollution that it causes that is. But as long as they keep praying and sticking their heads in the sand we are doomed to extinction. No great loss in my opinion after what we have done for thousands of years with our ignorance thinking it is knowledge. Have nice day! :pidu: Solitary
Quote from: KUSA on May 31, 2014, 12:29:06 PM
There's too many people on the Earth. Figure out how to fix that and this will go away.
Agreed.
Quote from: KUSA on May 31, 2014, 07:52:11 PM
So what's the best way to go about this?
Bread and circuses.
:axe:
More guns....
Quote from: aitm on May 31, 2014, 08:09:12 PM
:axe:
More guns....
Nein! Let them stupid themselves to death.
The solution to over-population is obvious: tell women come tastes like chocolate.
Quote from: slush33 on May 31, 2014, 08:30:52 PM
The solution to over-population is obvious: tell women come tastes like chocolate.
They'll figure that out way too quickly. Tell them it's a dieting and anti-wrinkle system.
Quote from: the_antithesis on May 31, 2014, 12:40:06 PM
Cross breed humans with ocelots and then after mating, women will bite men's nuts off.
After mating that's pretty useless, anti!
Quote from: slush33 on May 31, 2014, 08:30:52 PM
The solution to over-population is obvious: tell women come tastes like chocolate.
Quote from: Jason78 on June 01, 2014, 03:56:25 AM
They'll figure that out way too quickly. Tell them it's a dieting and anti-wrinkle system.
When you start dating, Jason, you will find out they already know that.
Why else would they date you?
Quote from: Mandingo on June 01, 2014, 07:50:31 AM
After mating that's pretty useless, anti!
They only do it once.
I'm not sure about on the brink. I think we're in the middle of a mass extinction event already.
Quote from: Mandingo on June 01, 2014, 08:34:45 AM
Wanna risk octuplets?
The frequency of such being...?
The dinosaurs didn't use up the worlds resources so there cheap cars could run faster and lil'billy could get an ice cold soda.
The world could do with a lot less people, and I do mean a LOT.
Well havin regular wee wars every cpl of years helps ah suppose an then mibbe a big world war every 50 years or so , then uv got disease an starvation , that'l take care of another few millions , an ye never know , that big meteorite is out there an it could make an appearance any fuckin time so dont get complacent noo ok ppl...
An dont forget the fuckin Aliens, they could show up the morra an start fuckin eatin us n shit ..... :pray:
Quote from: 10 Green Bottles..... on June 01, 2014, 06:03:57 PM
Well havin regular wee wars every cpl of years helps ah suppose an then mibbe a big world war every 50 years or so , then uv got disease an starvation , that'l take care of another few millions , an ye never know , that big meteorite is out there an it could make an appearance any fuckin time so dont get complacent noo ok ppl...
An dont forget the fuckin Aliens, they could show up the morra an start fuckin eatin us n shit ..... :pray:
A couple million here and there is peanuts when we need 6 BILLION less people â€" that's 1,000 times as many! â€" on this planet.
Fear not! The NWO committee is working on the overpopulation problem as we speak... it's not long till they figure out the solution and bring remedy to our poor mother earth Illuminati style!
[edit] ...also, if there's too few buffy-tufted-ear marmoset and too many people the solution is obvious to me. We're all cousins anyway so...
Quote from: Mandingo on June 01, 2014, 07:50:31 AM
After mating that's pretty useless, anti!
Well, we do need to keep the species going. And you don't get a baby every time. But some guys knock up chicks like they're trying to form a hockey team or something. This would limit those fuckers to only one chance at offspring. And the chick gets a snack. Win, win.
If everyone would simply remember that one little bird can put a big damper on the population issue.....the swallow.....
LOLOLOLOL....oh sometimes I keel myself...
Actually, teen pregnancy is on the decline these days because kids are doin' it in the butt.
Population growth isn't a problem in the west. I'm pretty sure our population is either at a standstill or shrinking without immigration. Population growth is occurring in the third world.
I believe that the way to limit population growth is through creating increased wealth and empowering women. As far as I know, those are the only thing that have worked for limiting population growth.
How to create these things in the third world is the big question.
On the verge? I thought we were well into it.
The most humane thing to do with human population is allow it to run its course. According to UN projections, our population will never double from what it is today. Middle-of-the road estimates have global population peaking around 2050 and gradually declining for centuries thereafter. Population will top at 9 or 10 billion, which may still be too many, but at least an end to out-of-control growth is in sight. Almost all the population growth over the next 40 years will be in Africa and South America.
Quote from: Berati on June 08, 2014, 11:57:28 PMI believe that the way to limit population growth is through creating increased wealth and empowering women. As far as I know, those are the only thing that have worked for limiting population growth.
How to create these things in the third world is the big question.
You forget the root aspect of population growth limitation: education.
Quote from: Mandingo on June 09, 2014, 12:33:33 PM
You forget the root aspect of population growth limitation: education.
I think education is the beginning of creating wealth and empowering women, so they go hand in hand.
The correlation is covered in this wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographic-economic_paradox
QuoteThe demographic-economic paradox is the inverse correlation found between wealth and fertility within and between nations. The higher the degree of education and GDP per capita of a human population, subpopulation or social stratum, the fewer children are born in any industrialized country.
Quote from: Berati on June 09, 2014, 01:15:38 PMeducation is the beginning of creating wealth and empowering women
Like I said: education is the root aspect of population growth limitation.
Quote from: Mandingo on June 09, 2014, 05:37:15 PM
Like I said: education is the root aspect of population growth limitation.
The Islamic world graduates huge amounts of people in Islamic studies.
This is education but it doesn't accomplish jack shit, so like I said, education by itself is not the root aspect of population growth limitation unless it leads to increased wealth and empowering women. Those are the only things that have so far led to reductions in population growth.
Quote from: Berati on June 09, 2014, 11:55:54 PM
The Islamic world graduates huge amounts of people in Islamic studies.
This is education but it doesn't accomplish jack shit,
If it doesn't "accomplish Jack Shit" it's not education. That's brain-washing.
Quoteso like I said, education by itself is not the root aspect of population growth limitation unless it leads to increased wealth and empowering women. Those are the only things that have so far led to reductions in population growth.
Afaik the purpose of education,
real education, is to increase knowledge and encourage independent thinking. Its purpose is not to "increase wealth and empower women". Those are 'just' (very welcome) by-products. But
by-products nevertheless.
Quote from: Mandingo on June 10, 2014, 04:09:40 PM
If it doesn't "accomplish Jack Shit" it's not education. That's brain-washing.
Afaik the purpose of education, real education, is to increase knowledge and encourage independent thinking. Its purpose is not to "increase wealth and empower women". Those are 'just' (very welcome) by-products. But by-products nevertheless.
You say brain washing someone else says education. I say it doesn't accomplish jack shit, muslims say it gives the the ideal information for creating a great society.
That's the problem with the "all we need is education" argument. Everyone's idea of education is different and everyone says the answer to every problem is education.
So my original point stands. Wealth and female empowerment are the only are the only things that have so far led to reductions in population growth. I've said they go hand in hand with education.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographic-economic_paradox
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/population_and_sustainability/pdfs/Empowerment.pdf