Is Mass Species Extinction a Bigger Threat Than Global Warming? -A Galaxy Insight

Biocide is occurring at an alarming rate. Experts say that at least half of the world’s current species will be completely gone by the end of the century. Wild plant-life is also disappearing. Most biologists say that we are in the midst of an anthropogenic mass extinction. Numerous scientific studies confirm that this phenomenon is real and happening right now. Should anyone really care? Will it impact individuals on a personal level? Scientists say, “Yes!”

Critics argue that species disappear and new ones emerge all the time. That’s true, if you’re speaking in terms of millennia. Scientists acknowledge that species disappear at an estimated rate of one species per million per year, with new species replacing the lost ones at around the same rate. Recently humans have accelerated the extinction rate to where several entire species are annihilated every single day. The death toll artificially caused by humans is mind-boggling. Nature will take millions of years to repair what we destroy in just a few decades.

A recent analysis, published in the journal Nature, shows that it takes 10 million years before biological diversity even begins to approach what existed before a die-off. Over 10,000 scientists in the World Conservation Union have compiled data showing that currently 51 per cent of known reptiles, 52 per cent of known insects, and 73 per cent of known flowering plants are in danger along with many mammals, birds and amphibians. It is likely that some species will become extinct before they are even discovered, before any medicinal use or other important features can be assessed. The cliché movie plot where the cure for cancer is about to be annihilated is more real than anyone would like to imagine.

Research done by the American Museum of Natural History found that the vast majority of biologists believe that mass extinction poses a colossal threat to human existence, and is even more serious of an environmental problem than one of its contributors- global warming. The research also found that the average person woefully underestimates the dangers of mass extinction. Powerful industrial lobbies would like people to believe that we can survive while other species are quickly and quietly dying off. Irresponsible governments and businesses would have people believe that we don’t need a healthy planet to survive- even while human cancer rates are tripling every decade.

A lot of us heard about the recent extinction of the Yangtze river dolphin. It was publicized because dolphins are cute and smart, and we like dolphins. We were sort of sad that we humans were single-handedly responsible for destroying the entire millions-of-years-old species in just a few years through rampant pollution. Unfortunately the real death toll is so much higher than we hear on the news. Only a few endangered “celebrity favorites” get any notice at all.

Since animals and plants exist in symbiotic relationships to one another, extinction of one species is likely to cause ”co-extinctions”. Some species directly affect the health of hundreds of other species. There is always some kind of domino effect. This compounding process occurs with frightening speed. That makes rampant extinction similar too disease in the way that it spreads. Sooner or later- if gone unchecked- humans may catch it too.

Amphibians are a prime example at how tinkering with the environment can cause rapid animal death. For over 300 million years frogs, salamanders, newts and toads were hardy enough to precede and outlive the dinosaurs up until the present time. Now, within just two decades many amphibians are disappearing. Scientists are alarmed at how one seemingly robust species of amphibians will suddenly disappear within a few months.

The causes of biocide are a hodge-podge of human environmental “poisons” which often work synergistically, including a vast array of pollutants, pesticides, a thinning ozone layer which increases ultra-violet radiation, human induced climate change, habitat loss from agriculture and urban sprawl, invasions of exotic species introduced by humans, illegal and legal wildlife trade, light pollution, and man-made borders among other many other causes.

Is there a way out? The answer is yes and no. We’ll never regain the lost biodiversity-at least not within a fathomable time period, but there are ways to prevent a worldwide bio collapse, but they all require immediate action. The eminent Harvard biologist Edward O Wilson, and other scientists point out that the world needs international cooperation in order to sustain ecosystems, since nature is unaware of artificially drawn borders. Humans love to fence off space they’ve claimed as their own. Sadly, a border fence often has terrible ecological consequences. One fence between India and Pakistan cuts off bears and leopards from their feeding habitats, which is causing them to starve to death. Starvation leads to attacks on villagers, and more slaughtering of the animals.

Some of the most endangered wildlife species live right in between the borderland area of the US and Mexico. These indigenous animals don’t know that they now live between two countries. They were here long before the people came and nations divided, but they will not survive if we cut them off fromtheir habitat. The Sky Islands is one of many areas smack in the middle of this boundary where some of North America's most threatened wildlife is found. Jaguars, bison, and Wolves have to cross through international terrain in the course of their life's travels in order to survive. Unfortunately, illegal Mexican workers cross here too. People who know nothing of the wildlife’s biological needs want to create a large fence to keep out Mexicans, regardless of the fact that a fence would devastate these already fragile animal populations.

Wilson says the time has come to start calling the "environmentalist view" the "real-world view". We can’t ignore reality simply because it doesn’t conform nicely within convenient boundaries and moneymaking strategies. What good will all of our money and conveniences do for us, if we collectively destroy the necessities of life?

There is hope, but it requires radical changes. Many organizations are lobbying for that change. One group trying to salvage ecosystems is called The Wildlands Project, a conservation group spearheading the drive to reconnect the remaining wildernesses. The immediate goal is to reconnect wild North America in four broad "mega-linkages". Within each mega-linkage, mosaics of public and private lands, which would provide safe migrations for wildlife, would connect core areas. Broad, vegetated overpasses would link wilderness areas normally split by roads. They will need cooperation from local landowners and government agencies.

It is a radical vision to many people, and the Wildlands Project expects that it will take at least 100 years to complete. Even so, projects like this, on a worldwide basis, may be humanity’s best chance of saving what’s left of the planets eco-system, and the human race along with it.

Posted by Rebecca Sato.

Link: http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article2494659.ece

Check out Extinction Blog for Global Incidents and Info

Prior Posts:

The 6th Mass Extinction

"The Great Extinction" & the Rise of Modern Species

Coming of Age in the Holocene

Comments

[mike Scott]

Punctuated equilibrium, is the hallmark of niche evolution. Mostly after some huge calamity, that we are, for other species, that calamity; as niches open up something will fill them. The problem is killing off too many at one time and creating cascades of extinction on interdependent biomes. It isn't that we are killing everything in sight, just that we are killing KEY units in dependent chains, or have displaced many local keys with imports(like honey bees). Non-Native come alongs' out compete native when transferred to new locations without their local limiters, nothing new there. That things go extinct does not necessarly create gaps in the Bio-Mass which is the real danger sign of uninhabitability, not just loss of diversity, thing still live there, just not the ones that belong there.

[Jade]

It is ludicrous to believe that we can hurt the earth. When she gets tired of us, she will shake us off like a bunch of fleas.

[JM]

Jade=> I assume you are kidding?

You can see our effects on the planet anywhere you look.

ie, landslides and floods because we have paved so much land that would have normally absorbed the water and removed plants that would have stabilized the earth with their roots.

At the risk of sounding like a loon... Agent Smith wasn't too far off in The Matrix when humans were compared to a virus. We do not help anything we touch, we take and consume and move on and breed. It's too bad we don't have a natural predator to cull our heard anymore. Well I am sure some microbe will come along and bring the balance back by whiping out masses of humans.

[B.B.]

JM, I think you and Jade actually perfectly agree. You just both put it into different words. You're both stating the truth that if humans push too hard, nature will eventually push back. We won't like (or survive) the consequences, but we'll have brought them on ourselves.

[Rodrigo]

There were many huge mass extinctions in Earth's history and yet humans eventually developed.

It is apparent that humans are too dumb and will cause their own extinction as a result of environmental pollution and its consequences.

However this is in the end beneficial to Life and a more intelligent species will emerge.

[Deon]

"a more intelligent species will emerge."....don't bet on it. Our species are just "lucky" to have evolved along the line of intelligence.
It's actually funny how everyone tries to pretend that there "still is hope". I think it's mostly a sad way of trying not trying to sound overly pessimistic and gloomy, however, I see NO WAY that we'll ever get out of this problem. The biggest factor to all of this as far as I'm concerned is population population population .... unless we somehow convince the whole freakin' world to stop having kids for a long time (which in itself will be an impossible proposal)..I don't see any way of getting out of this mess.

[rudeboi]

It appears there's no way to really know one way or another, though it does seem as if we're collectively to numc to care or too dumb to realize.

[Uncle B]

Selective breeding is common in the world. It doesn't always start at the bottom and shear off the stragglers like in the nature movies. Sometimes it starts at the top, taking out the privileged made incapable of running hard by their indolences! It happens quite naturally, and right now, the overly big bodied, anti-biotic stuffed, hormone meat driven, lazy, physically inactive, high carb dieted, over drugged, spoiled, "entitled", cocky, sedentary, over-educated, super-entertained, over-stimulated, amoral, super-consuming, over paid American is first on the list! His over-dependence on things synthetic for his survival is his Achilles heel! The (GRD) great republican depression may be the thrashing machine for the American population, or it may be the "Grim Reaper" Now, get in your Corvette, drive down to the drugstore for some Tylenol, pick up a fifth to swallow it down, and grab a pizza to fill your tum-tum. Don't forget your Prozac, and turn up the central heating and humidity control a bit too! Wrap up nice and comfy in your artificial bedding, slump down on your oil-based fluffy mattress, and wait for the sleeping-pill to kick in. Good night!

[abe]

Important to note that global warming is another factor that can and will contribute to mass extinctions. kinda have to solve both at once

[Helder]

Go outside and look up. You only have 2 to 3 miles of comfortable respirable air above your head without bottle oxygen.
Now imagine if you have to put your space suit every day just to go to work at your 10 miles workplace.
Is not a lot of air, isn't?

[Guy Uomo]

There are no intrinsic characteristics in the human species that sets us outside nature. That being said, I always take notice when the word "artificial" is used in articles similar to this one - as in "The death toll artificially caused by humans is mind-boggling." My intention is not to slight the author, because I agree with the spirit of the article. My point is to shift the focus on how we view the problem. We are a force in - or even of - nature. I think the human story should be studied from the perspective of order-out-of-chaos; much in the same way scientists study the formation of hurricanes, cancer, or - more similarly to our situation - swarms of locust. Those formations take their toll in terms of hours, days or a few years. It is easy to disconnect these phenomena from the global picture and study their patterns because they work well within our digestible time-frame. I think if we were to time-lapse the spread of the human species, we would see similar patterns. Simply, we are a species that is doing what any other species would do - spreading indiscriminately because there is - as of yet - no force holding us back.

I say that we should shift our view from "we are outsiders of nature" to "we are a part of nature" because - and even though the following may cast me as a misanthrope - I don’t hold much hope for humanity in our current mind-set. The section of our world that is most conscious of any possibility of future calamity for the planet and our kind is the First World. As a percentage of the total world population, the First World is a minority. And even among that number, only a small percentage of those people are concerned enough about global problems to make lifestyle changes - if they believe there is a problem at all. Most of the world in a Second or Third World state is myopic when it comes to their daily concerns (and I suppose this could include a good number of people in the First World). Getting their dollar-a-day to survive is the biggest problem. (The end of the world might be a release for many.) Their view of humanity’s place in this world is that they’re here to please [insert the name of a spiritual entity] that might smite them if not given due respect. The world is theirs to use as they please so long as proper tributes are paid to [insert the name of a spiritual entity]. Lacking from the majority of the world’s mind-set is the view that humanity is only a part in the story of this planet.

In the epilogue of this planet’s story, humanity will probably be portrayed as a major force that brought on a significant climate shift and mass extinction - in the same way we now describe how an asteroid might have done-in the dinosaurs.

In a final rant - it is said that we are a rational species; but that is only relative to other known species. In a picture painted with a more absolute definition of rational - we are quite the opposite. Adam Smith may be very wrong - I think we are only masturbating with the invisible hand.

[Brian]

Here is a good question.

How the hell do you have extinction data before say the 1800's or earlier. All the data before would be suspect not only because there was no way of determining populations, but most species weren't even identified!

Mass extinctions are a threat, and have happened at least a couple times in the history of earth, but data on escalation is just impossible on a long time scale. Not enough data for all species, not just people's "pet" animals.

Dennis Leary had it right. Your a cuddly otter we'll save you, your a sea cow get in the bus.

[Brian]

Here is a good question.

How the hell do you have extinction data before say the 1800's or earlier. All the data before would be suspect not only because there was no way of determining populations, but most species weren't even identified!

Mass extinctions are a threat, and have happened at least a couple times in the history of earth, but data on escalation is just impossible on a long time scale. Not enough data for all species, not just people's "pet" animals.

Dennis Leary had it right. Your a cuddly otter we'll save you, your a sea cow get in the bus.

[ciara]

this article, especially about the fences we put it, shows just how lame "humans" are a species.

could be a good thing if we are all wiped off this planet.

[ciara]

*up

[Brian]

I have a spaceship, anyone want to leave this planet with me?

[Shay]

It's sad for sure.

You, me, and everyone we know will die, but humanity as a whole will certainly survive.

As animals, humans have been acting in perfect accordance with the code of the jungle. Reproduce unless something keeps you in check. Use all the tricks in your bag to get what you want and need.

Ironically, we were just unlucky to end up with a very strong potential for creativity and visualization. Crows have it, but somewhere along the way we got a triple dose.

Rational thought is a useful tool, and we can certainly imagine a world were we have the will to alter our fundemental animal natures, but the sad fact is that we can't. At least not in the near future and not before the very painful, very deadly brick wall up ahead.

This is what I see in our future:

Hyper escalating food costs.
Mass migrations.
Fighting for your life in refugee camps.

What I don't know is whether this comes in a fast "apocalypse", or a "stair step" series of successive smaller crisis. Maybe it takes 10, 20, or 30 years?

My optimistic fantasy is that it'll take 30-70 years and we'll have successive "super" advancements in pollution remediation, power generation, recycling, transportation, and food technologies along the way. The singularitarian salvation.

But then ofcourse there's the singularitarian apocalypse to worry about...

The odds of us having a cozy ride into old age and relative comfort are slim to none.

[MICHAEL J. SCHMITZ]

WHY DO YOU THINK GLOBAL WARMING IS HERE= TO WATER THE PLANET? YOU KNOW YOU PEOPLE ARE SUPPOSE TO BE SMART, BUT I WONDER WITH SOME OF THE STUPIDIST THINGS YOU'VE BEEN COMING UP WITH LATELY. THE REASON FOR GLOBAL WARMING IS COMING FROM A ALIEN SPECIES THAT WANTS THIS UNIVERSE. THEY PLAN ON USEING EARTH AS THEIR OWN WORLD. SO TO CLEAN IT UP THEY'VE GOT TO GET RID OF ALL SPECIES, SINCE THEY KIDNAPPED MANY SPECIES ON EARTH AND FOUND THEM TO BE SAVAGE, SO TO TAKE EARTH WITHOUT ARISING ALL, THEY ARE USEING BEAMS IN CREVICES ON CERTAIN CONTINENTS IN THE DIRECTION OF EARTH'S ROTATION FROM THE POINT OF ACTIVATION AND DEACTIVATION. THIS ASSEMBLY AND INSTALLATION AND OPENING UP BASES AND CAVES UNDERWATER HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR THE LAST 400 YEARS. THAT SO CALLED ASTEROID YOU THINK YOUR WAITING ON. THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON ON EARTH WAS MADE BY BILL HALEY AND HIS BAND IN THE LATE 40'S OR EARLY 50'S AND LAUNCHED . THATS THE ONLY WEAPON MAN MADE THAT CAN DESTROY IT, ITS NOT A ASTEROID, ITS A LARGE SPACE CRAFT CARRYING THE WHOLE CULTURE OF ALL THE INVADERS OF OUR UNIVERSE. ALL THIS IS TO DESTROY ALL SPECIES ON EARTH, NOT THE PLANET, BUT US USEING NATURE AGAINST US. THE OTHER PLANETS IT NEEDS FOR MINERALS. THIS IS WHAT THEY DO, THEY GO FROM UNIVERSE TO UNIVERSE AND DO THEIR WORST TO ALL. THEIR SHIPS TRAVEL IN SPACE, BUT SPACE AND OCEAN ARE SIMILIAR, SO TO CONTINUE THEIR MOVES WITHOUT ATTENTION 400 YEARS AGO THEY MADE GLACIERS SO TODAY THEY CAN FLOOD ALL SPECIES AND BRING RAIN DOWN TO MOVE MOUNTAINS TO DESTROY ALL SPECIES. MY SOLUTION WILL DELETE GLOBAL WARMING. http://www.socyberty.com/Activism/First-Step-for-the-Solution-to-Global-Warming.103109 THIS SOLUTION DOES 2 THINGS. BY THE EXPERIMENT= IT LOWERS THE OCEANS SO ALL MELTED ICE JUST STAYS IN THE OCEAN, NOT ENGULF SEA LEVEL LAND, LIKE FARMS, RANCHES, WASHINGTON D.C. ETC.LIKE ITS DOING NOW, AND 2 IT HELP US TO FIND THE RIGHT LINK UPS TO DELETE GLOBAL WARMING. IT'D BE NICE IF YOU PEOPLE WOULD WAKE UP AND NOT ASK SUCH STUPID QUESTION. YOU WANT TO DO SOMETHING IMPORTANT FOR A CHANGE CONTACT ALL THE NATIONS TO BUY MY EARTHQUAKE SOLUTION, IF IMPLEMENTED IN ONE COUNTRY, IN ONE PLACE WHERE ALL EARTHQUAKES ORIGINATE FROM, IT WOULD DELETE ALL EARTHQUAKES AND QUAKE RELATED TSUNAMI'S ON EARTH $120 BILLION, IF YOU GOT ALL NATIONS TO JOINTLY BUY THIS IN EXCHANGE FOR MY EARTHQUAKE SOLUTION YOU GET $10 BILLION. I WANT 2 AMERICAN CASHIERS CHECKS FOR $110 BILLION AND $10 BILLION TO BE EXCHANGED IN ASTORIA, OREGON AT A LOCATION OF MY CHOICE. I PLAN ON HIRING ALL PEOPLE'S ON ALL CONTINENTS TO WORK MY SOLUTION AND PUT CHANNELS THROUGH ALL STATES IN THE USA, AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND AND ALL COUNTRIES IN EUROPE SO FRESHWATER CAN BE EXTRACTED FROM SALTWATER FOR EVERYONE. LATER THIS YEAR 26 STATES WILL BE HURTING FOR FRESHWATER, EUROPES ALREADY HURTING AND SO IS AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND. BUT THE STIMULOUS PACKAGE DOES'NT HELP US TO DELETE GLOBAL WARMING. HELP ME HELP ALL OUR SPECIES TO SURVIVE AND DELETE GLOBAL WARMING. http://www.inventube.com/ooojay/blog/ MICHAEL J. SCHMITZ AMERICAN.

[pikestaff]

Governments will survive, and those that help them to survive, the rest will starve and kill each other, look at africa.

[pikestaff]

Mr. Schmitz, what mad house let you out?

[claudio]

Former mass extinctions or ELE are happening on this planet with an estimate frequency of 1 every 250Millions Y...this is due to continets shifts.

When new Pangea in about 200MY will come and we do NOT need invasion from space to kill all of us in the supercontinent that will be formed again.

The Asteroid of Xiculub in the Gulf of Mexico has interrupted this Cycle of life and death and has killed the Dynosaurs and similar creatures of those days.

We emerged from nowhere ....may be from the oceans..some sustain....and those strange creatures are our natural ancestors.

We might not arrive to the next century 'the article says'...and we DO NOT need to wait for the Sun to become a red giant (5 Billion Y) or the next Pangea Nr 2....(200 MY somes say and maintain...)

In simpler words we are killing other species of this planet for our natural attitude to Kill ...and this is the remnant of the 'Neanderthal men...genoma'.

We are too meny and The poor planet soon..very soon ..... will NOT be able to sustain all of us human beings or self-declared Intelligent Bipeds.

'Very ...Very possible'...I would say there is a Good likelyhood...or Good probability that this 'NOT return event' will come sooner .......than later......

Then why it is NOT possible to start NOW to think about our future sons of our sons ???

WHY ??

Simple 'becouse as a specie with Neanderthalis traits'....and NOT much with 'Homo Sapiens traits' we will destroy the planet 1st and seldestroy ourselves as 2nd .....before we admit that we are all acting in a WRONG WAY...and we MUST change our attitude.

Regards to ALL

Good destruction..

[John Caley]

LIFE has started seeding.... and after seeding the plant dies and rots

Nothing to see here, it is all as it should be
Why are humans suddenly concerned...LIFE isn't.

Life is actually waiting for y'all to blow your rock apart, and puff-ball spores throughout the Universe

According to plan.

[claudio]

Caley , The subject is NOT life or GEA or spores within stones....or Comets...
The matter relates to us Bipeds of this exact planet....and IF - HOW we will be living in a planet overpopulated : NOT sustainable.
So your comment is nice and pervaded by 'optimistic view' BUT it is quite 'generic'.

Regards

[Scott]

Ahh Rebecca....another mis-leading article. I see no evidence that the die off will affect me or my children or grandchildren. Grandchildren is about as far as humans care about...anything further is ...well...science fiction. My son is a pilot for Delta....I am a retired Postal manager. Soooo...tell me again how our current world is going to be affected by this "die off"? Most of us live in cities and the only connection we have with nature is we see cows and horses in movies like Broke Back Mountain. I await your reply.

[magintob]

Guy Uomo .. I am in your court. Mankind has an exaggerated sense of self-importance. But We are simply one species among billions, subject to the planetary movements, the effects of the solar system, planet earth's rise and fall. Let's not fool ourselves that we are anything but that.