[dohboi]

The Sixth Mass Extinction

http://www.desdemonadespair.net/2014/02 ... tions.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/won ... g-a-sixth/

[dohboi]

http://aeon.co/magazine/nature-and-cosm ... -the-deep/

Earth’s oceans are beginning to warm and turn acidic, endangering plankton and the entire marine food chain

According to some models, by 2050 this rising brew of more acidic water will reach the surface waters of the Antarctic, and calcium carbonate will begin to dissolve throughout much of the Southern Ocean.

‘It’s not a question of if pteropods will be dissolving, or if they will be compromised – it is certain they will be,’ Bednaršek said.

Meanwhile, back on land:

http://www.desdemonadespair.net/2014/02 ... n-one.html

Lemurs could be extinct ‘very soon’ – ‘One cyclone or other natural event could wipe out the entire population. In fact, anybody who decides to go out lemur hunting could tip the species over the edge.’

Many people who argue for the likelihood of future human survival tend to imagine small groups of remnant populations eking out their existence in various corners of the world. What they don't tend to consider is that such small isolated populations are, like the remnant lemur populations, subject to sudden extreme weather (or other) events which will be more and more common, events which could wipe out such population centers, either one by one, or in one swell foop.

[onlooker]

this link to astonishing rate of biodiversity and wildlife loss. Again it is okay to dwell on climate change because the menace warrants it. Yet other calamities are unfolding in the whole biosphere which also should be alarming to any sensible person. But do we hear about his on the news , no, we hear about terrorism and such. It truly is beyond frustrating, it is suicidal. here is link:
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29418983

[dohboi]

The situation is so dire, according to a new study, that it threatens an “empty landscape” in some ecosystems “across much of the planet Earth.”

The authors were clear:

This is a big problem — and it’s a problem with us, not them.

Horribly bleak study sees ‘empty landscape’ as large herbivores vanish at startling rate

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morn ... ling-rate/

As if humanity’s bottomless appetite for land and meat weren’t enough, organized crime and the endless hunt for body parts from elephants and rhinos is also a major factor in Africa and southern Asia, the study said.

[SeaGypsy]

Who is 'us'? I'm pretty sure middle & upper class Asia is the big market for ivory etc.

[Newfie]

SG,
It's not just the elephants and rhinos...its most anything we can scarf down.....tuna, cod , sardines, monkeys, gorillas.... And it's not new think of dodo, auk, mammoth, bison, etc.


It's really just a continuing trend.

[dinopello]

SG,
It's not just the elephants and rhinos...its most anything we can scarf down.....tuna, cod , sardines, monkeys, gorillas.... And it's not new think of dodo, auk, mammoth, bison, etc.


It's really just a continuing trend.

Yep. I've had Orange Roughy maybe 5 times in my life and yet it was so good I would say it was my favorite fish. Your post made me do a search. Where have all the Orange Roughy gone ?

The problem is that the orange roughy is a deep-sea species that cannot sustain the level of exploitation that our technology and policies have made possible. It simply reproduces too slowly. Orange roughy typically don’t start breeding until they’re 30 years old and can live up to 150 years. So catching orange roughy is much more like mining than fishing. In effect, it’s more like a non-renewable resource!

I had no idea about their lifespan. Incredible and sad.

[jedrider]

If those in some power would just say enough is enough and clamp down on this exploitation, maybe we could slow it down, but no. The Chinese want Rhino and Elephant tusks, the Japanese want their whales and tuna, we want our oil. One cannot say no to any of this because the response will be 'no' to our request for more resources. It is certainly a Prisoner's Dilemma: We are prisoners of our own desires.

[Pops]

Actually it looks like "we" are winning.

It will be lonely at the top.

.

[jedrider]

I forgot to mention forests and deforestation. In an age of global warming, to continue destroying forest for any reason is beyond insane.

While mankind is good at displacing other species, it will also be good at displacing itself. What goes around, comes around.

[zoidberg]

Better warm up the 3d food printers....

[dohboi]

And the feedstock for those would be....?

[dinopello]

And the feedstock for those would be....?

[zoidberg]

Yea soylent green. Inevitable. But I was thinking Russia's next gen nukes would supply the necessary power to process raw materials from earth sky and sea. It's always the energy at issue isn't it?

[KaiserJeep]

Hard to argue that these few animals constitute significant parts of the current biosphere. Remember this chart?



YES of course I am saddened by animal poaching and loss of diversity and large mammal extinctions and similar concerns. But as I am constantly reminding everybody, the current mass extinction event that is underway is apparently occurring faster than any in the fossil record.

It is foreseeable that at some point not too far in the future, the planet will have only humans and our plant and animal food species. I do NOT think we can manage a planetary biology successfully that way. I believe it is one of the final steps in the Holocene Mass Extinction "event" now underway.

Say the planetary ecology crashes in two centuries. It really started about 1800 when humans exceeded that maximum sustainable population number, and the world has been getting sicker since then. Today the rate of species extinctions is believed to be at a record high and still accelerating. If the crash completes in another two centuries, that would be more than 3X as fast as the Dinosaur-killing asteroid Chicxulub that struck the Yucatan 65 million years ago.

Just because this "event" has been happening your entire life, doesn't mean it is not rapid - the mere presence of 7.3 Billion humans is in fact the fastest catastrophe ever.

[zoidberg]

Human compatible species while not glamorous like elephants do exist. Ponder the insects rabbits birds and other urban life forms.

Our cropland and outdoor free range animal husbandry also supports a good deal of life as well.

Finally at least in Canada there is vast tracts of reserve(Indian territory) and crown land currently undeveloped.

So take heart well have company on our journey. Although I also am in favour of responsible and respectful development

[Ibon]

The glass in the end may still be a little more than half full. Those mega fauna that perish for ever will be eulogized and turned into mythological creatures for future generations looking back at the destruction we have wrought. These lost species will serve as martyrs for the remaining biodiversity serving the purpose of reminding surviving humans of what happens when your population goes into overshoot.

We lose a bit of ourselves with every species lost. Our world becomes just a little more diminished. We will be shamed by future generations.

Those of you who have bought into the story that humans in the 21t century have progressed from past generations only need to look at the rape and pillage of natural ecosystems to recognize our species has degenerated, not progressed. So it will be perceived to our descendants looking back.

Does this make you shrug your shoulders?
Does this make you sad?
Does this make you angry?
Does this inspire to make it your mission in life to preserve biodiversity?
Does this make you feel hopeless
Does this make you want to fight?
Does this make you want to advocate change?
Does this make you want to preserve kudzu apes at 7.3 billion at all costs?

It's your choice.

[Ibon]

Yes, Kudzu Apes are takers...... we destroy and take from native ecosystems and do a wholesale conversion for what? ...... packaging material to pack our junk!

https://www.facebook.com/DavidAvocadoWo ... 2/?fref=nf

[Sixstrings]

SG,
It's not just the elephants and rhinos...its most anything we can scarf down.....tuna, cod , sardines, monkeys, gorillas.... And it's not new think of dodo, auk, mammoth, bison, etc.

Yeah but SG is right, the Chiense really have single-handedly wiped out the planet's rhinos and elephants. All for their stupid herbal snake oil medicines. Which is traditional, I know, but it just boggles my mind how they can not care. It's so selfish. That one species of rhino -- it's gone now. There's one left and he's got an armed guard 24/7.

And China intends to do exponential growth with coal fired plants, that's going to crank up carbon emissions like no tomorrow.

And China will export their own environmental standards into other countries, with the TPP and China Bank, and if we don't agree to TPP they'll just create their own TPP -- with Chinese factories all over Asia, spewing smoke into the air. (don't buy Obama's nonsense that the TPP has eco provisions, it doesn't)

[SeaGypsy]

Asia's biggest downside is how often human development takes absolute precedence over nature. Japan is a rare exception within it's own borders, with substantial National Parks & protection of areas of significance, at the same time acting with utter hypocrisy in SE Asia & Latin America. China now has mega projects going on in Africa, enabling direct sale & export through workers & managers on mine & road projects. There is no easy way to get between poachers & their market at the best of times, worse when the market is much more engaged with these areas than most western countries are.

From what I see in Asia things are starring to improve, with most countries having at least put laws in place towards animal welfare & habitat preservation. The bigger problem is in enforcement, which is very expensive over large areas, especially when things go over the line into military style operations being required.

The solution, if there is one, has to both propogandise for nature & fund it's actual protection. There are people trying. Some of the greatest living heroes are wildlife defenders in third world countries; they deserve every support.