[sicophiliac]

http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/11/12/black-rhinos-are-now-extinct-in-africa/

First the Javan rhino is declared extinct in Vietnam, now the black rhino in Africa is declared extinct in the wild. Killed for their horns which are believed to have great medicinal powers in some Asian cultures. Its a shame that human activities are causing any species to go extinct.The fact that these creatures are gone primarily because ignorant and backwards people with no grasp of science think that they can cure cancer or impotence this way is all the worse. A combination of utter human stupidity (superstitions, ignorance, lack of long term foresight) with our genius (ability to make weapons,tools,procreate) seems to be dooming the planet.

[dorlomin]

Its a sub spieces, the Nothern Black Rhino. There are still a few thousand (2000???) left in Southern Africa.

[Lore]

Thanks, I feel better knowing that there are now only some 2,000 left.

[dorlomin]

Thanks, I feel better knowing that there are now only some 2,000 left.

Having not long ago had an argument that there was anything unusual about the extinction rate over the past 50 000 years I really did not feel like leaving an open goal for someone too shout about exagerating what is going on.

[sicophiliac]

Forgive my technical error. I should come back and repost this in another 10-20 years when it will probably be fully accurate.

[dorlomin]

Forgive my technical error. I should come back and repost this in another 10-20 years when it will probably be fully accurate.

yeah so long as you are posting on the right team you can ignore things like those troublesome facts eh.

[Pretorian]

well what are you doing about it? You could sign the petition in my signature for a lazyman's starter at least.

[meemoe_uk]

You can blame the AGW religion for animal extinctions now.

The AGW religion has rounded up all the eco-activist types, and polarised the lot of them, so that instead of going out into the world and working in conservation projects, they now spend all their time arguing the toss over the internet over global warming caused by CO2 ( the old testament ) and the imminent apocalyptic planetary fart ( the new testament ).

Signing petitions, sending money does nothing. We've had charities for decades, spent billions on all sorts of worthwhile causes. They still ask for more cash to sovle problems that only seem to get worse. Charities that solve the problem they claim they're out to solve, cease to exist. We're left with ones that never solve their stated goal, because they get hooked on the cash flow.

You want to be sure of helping, do it with your own hands. It involves going outside.

[dohboi]

"AGW religion"

Riiiight /sarc

This has got to be one of the stupidest memes that meem and his ilk have dreamed up.

So the people who accept the science are the religious ones and the folks who believe in fairy tales concocted by the Koch bros are the sober realists. Really, it would be funny if there wasn't so much at stake.

As for charities, I would say that the Koch 'charities' funding disinformation have been very successful at muddying the issue.

http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/11/14/367597/the-koch-funded-scientist-who-came-in-from-the-cold-muller-warming/

[dorlomin]

You can blame the AGW religion for animal extinctions now.

0/10 for trolling.

Its poaching that has been the problem for this speices.

[dohboi]

More on ocean trouble:

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/11/2011111653856937268.html

"From a climate change/fisheries/pollution/habitat destruction point of view, our nightmare is here, it's the world we live in."

This bleak statement about the current status of the world's oceans comes from Dr Wallace Nichols, a Research Associate at the California Academy of Sciences. Al Jazeera asked Dr Nichols, along with several other ocean experts, how they see the effects climate change, pollution and seafood harvesting are having on the oceans.

Their prognosis is not good.

[dorlomin]

'Cure for cancer' rumour killed off Vietnam's rhinos

The cause appears to be a rumour that started five or six years ago that rhino horn had cured cancer in a former Vietnamese politician. Its origins were unclear. The politician was not named nor were there any details on the type of cancer that had supposedly been cured. But the rumour spread rapidly by word of mouth, mobile phone and the internet.

The price of rhino horn surged, recently hitting record high of more than $60,000/kg – a higher price than gold. This prompted poachers to dust off their rifles and take greater risks. Rangers have shot dead sixteen since last year. Others are using helicopters for hunts.

[AdTheNad]

That sucks. I hear fake rhino horns worked just as well, and were way cheaper to boot.

[M_B_S]

Scientists warn over ocean acidityPosted on January 23, 2012 - 04:23 by Kate Taylor


"In some regions, the man-made rate of change in ocean acidity since the Industrial Revolution is a hundred times greater than the natural rate of change between the Last Glacial Maximum and pre-industrial times," says Tobias Friedrich of the International Pacific Research Center at the University of Hawaii.
"When Earth started to warm 17,000 years ago, terminating the last glacial period, atmospheric CO2 levels rose from 190 parts per million to 280 ppm over 6,000 years. Marine ecosystems had ample time to adjust. Now, for a similar rise in CO2 concentration to the present level of 392 ppm, the adjustment time is reduced to only 100 – 200 years."

http://www.tgdaily.com/sustainability-f ... an-acidity
***********************************************************

@ 750ppm Co2 the ocean becomes a lifeless desert.

Two billion people live direct or indirect from ocean fruits.
Warning:

When the green algae in the oceans are gone because of lethal acidification and the earths forest are burned down for human demands the self made end for homo sapiens becomes reality!

M_B_S

http://www.climatechangefacts.info/Clim ... eprint.pdf

We know it but be do not the right things!

[Graeme]

Water under pressure

Water should be at the top of the agenda for the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June, a United Nations report urges.

The fourth World Water Development Report by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), launched at the World Water Forum in Marseilles, France, on 12 March, notes that industry, agriculture and booming urban populations are putting Earth’s water supplies under unprecedented pressure (see graphics). Hundreds of millions of people do not have access to clean water, leaving them at risk from waterborne diseases. Without prompt action to improve water-management policies, the report says, a global crisis looms.


The report also focuses on the burgeoning demands of agriculture. Food production already consumes more than two-thirds of the world’s extracted water, and food demand is expected to rise by 70% by 2050, owing to population growth. Research into improving crop yields and drought tolerance will help nations to meet needs while using water more efficiently.

The report concludes that policy-makers must balance the requirements of agriculture and industry with the need for sustainable sources of clean drinking water by developing integrated policies that satisfy all three sectors. Michel Jarraud, chairman of UN-Water — a grouping of 28 UN organizations including UNESCO — says that the group will tell leaders at the Rio summit that “the challenges, risks and uncertainties blocking the road to sustainable development require a collective response by the whole international community”.

nature

[M_B_S]

OECD Environmental Outlook to 2050: The Consequences of Inaction

WARNING WARNING WARNING

http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/6/1/49846090.pdf

Nobody can say he do not know about the facts!

M_B_S

[Graeme]

Biomass should be tenth tipping point, researcher says

The nine 'planetary boundaries' — environmental tipping points, beyond which the planet may not recover —– could soon be joined by a tenth one, if a proposal from a prominent scientist is accepted.
The concept of planetary boundaries was proposed in 2009 by Johan Rockström, executive director of the Stockholm Environment Institute, and Will Steffen, executive director of the Australian National University's Climate Change Institute, but has been debated ever since.
The nine original planetary boundaries are climate change, biodiversity loss, biogeochemical flow, fisheries/news/rising-ocean-acidity-worst-for-caribbean-and-pacific.html' target='_blank'>ocean acidification, land-use change, freshwater use, ozone depletion, atmospheric aerosols and chemical pollution.
Each of these factors has a safe 'operating space', but once the boundaries are reached, 'the destruction becomes largely irreversible' with dire consequences for the planet and humans, said Steffen.
The concept of tipping points is being pushed for inclusion in the Rio+20 negotiations, but there has been no agreement over the exact thresholds for the boundaries, which some scientists say are too stringent, while others say they are not stringent enough.
Steven Running, who studies global ecosystem monitoring at the University of Montana, United States, suggested during the Planet Under Pressure conference in London yesterday (26 March) that there should be a tenth boundary: the amount of available biomass.

environmental-expert

[Ferretlover]

Ark. Blackbird Die-Off Was Deliberate
OFFICIALS SAY FIREWORKS SET OFF IN ROOST IN BEEBE, ARKANSAS
(NEWSER) - The hundreds of dead blackbirds that rained down on a rural Arkansas town for the second New Year's Eve in a row weren't so much omens of the apocalypse as victims of crime, reports Fox News . The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is blaming human interference for the. 200 or so bird deaths, saying in a statement: "We know that there was evidence of fireworks set off in the middle of the roost, and it wasn't a coincidence." Officials believe that fireworks accidentally spooked the birds last year, leading to the death of 4,000 of them as they chaotically flew into each other and buildings. Criminal charges could result this time.

http://www.newser.com/story/136607/ark- ... erate.html

Could result?? I suggest we include these criminals in the first dieoff wave... Ggrrrr

[Ferretlover]

Other bird disasters:

1,500 Birds Crash, Die in Utah BUT 3,000 SURVIVE THE CRASH
(NEWSER) - Storm clouds gathered over Utah on Monday, but what wound up raining down from the sky were birds. Thousands of eared grebes dived into roads and parking lots across Cedar City and St. George, apparently mistaking the flat surfaces for water, the LA Times reports. About 1,500 birds died in the incident, but many more survived the plunge—officials have so far rescued more than 3,000 of the duck-like birds, and released them into the water.
It's not unheard of for birds to occasionally take such fatal plunges, "but this is by far the largest we've had," a spokesman for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources said. She added that rescuing the survivors was necessary, because while they're good at swimming and flying, eared grebes "are essentially useless for getting around on land."

http://www.newser.com/story/135455/1500 ... -utah.html

Peru: Climate Change Behind Dead Animals?
DEAD DOLPHINS, BIRDS COULD HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY WARMING WATERS
(NEWSER) 10 May 2012 - Peru may finally have an answer for the 5,000 birds and nearly 900 dolphins that have died on its northern coast: climate change. As waters warm, food supply is disrupted, says the country’s deputy environment minister. A weather expert also confirms warmer waters due to El Niño could be a factor. The minister also reiterated that so far, it appears neither contamination nor bacterial infections are to blame for the death of the dolphins.
The problem will likely “extend to other coastal areas,” he added. The public was warned to stay away from northern beaches until the mystery has been solved. At least one NGO believes oil exploration in the area is to blame, claiming it causes noises that can hurt dolphins. A rep says 30 of the dead mammals had broken ears and damaged organs, AFP reports.

http://www.newser.com/story/145778/peru ... imals.html

[Ferretlover]

Report: Global biodiversity down 30 percent in 40 years
Freshwater tropical species hardest hit, says World Wildlife Fund
By Stephanie Pappas Senior Writer for Live Science:
The world's biodiversity is down 30 percent since the 1970s, according to a new report, with tropical species taking the biggest hit. And if humanity continues as it has been, the picture could get bleaker.
Humanity is outstripping the Earth's resources by 50 percent — essentially using the resources of one and a half Earths every year, according to the 2012 Living Planet Report, produced by conservation agency the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
Colby Loucks, the director of conservation sciences at WWF, compared humanity to bad houseguests.
We're emptying the fridge, we're not really taking care of the lawn, we're not weeding the flower beds and we're certainly not taking out the garbage," Loucks said. 50 Amazing Facts About Earth
Related: Most mammals won't flee climate change fast enough
Burning through resources: The biannual Living Planet report is designed to call attention to the Earth's "invisible economy," said Emily McKenzie, the director of the WWF's Natural Capital Program. Natural resources — and the rate at which humans burn through them — rarely appear on policymakers' balance sheets, McKenzie said …

Live Science

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