Earth is in it's 6th mass extinction scientists warn

[dissentowner]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-2...y-says/6560700

Not since the age of the dinosaurs ended 66 million years ago has the planet been losing species at this rapid a rate, a study led by experts at Stanford University, Princeton University and the University of California, Berkeley said.

The study "shows without any significant doubt that we are now entering the sixth great mass extinction event," co-author and Stanford University professor of biology Paul Ehrlich said.

And the study, which was published in the journal Science Advances on Friday and described by its authors as "conservative", said humans were likely to be among the species lost.

[T@T]

It's just natural selection

[polak]

I for one, am a huge fan of this mass extinction event. Easy and instant access to clean water and all sorts of food options, nice climate, indoor plumbing, access to all the knowledge in human history at the touch of a button, the ability to explore the world safely and easily, long life expectancy.

Sign me up for more of this.

[Erick Estrada]

The 6th mass extinction? Bring on the 7th I say! Doomsday predictions have been going on since the birth of man as we are fixated in predicting our demise.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

The 6th mass extinction? Bring on the 7th I say! Doomsday predictions have been going on since the birth of man as we are fixated in predicting our demise.

But statistically it will happen.

[FlamesAddiction]

Woo-hoo. Making more oil for us! Or whoever the next dominant species is.

[Regulator75]

Aren't we overdue for a massive species ending Meteor strike?

[Northendzone]

Originally Posted by polak

access to all the knowledge in human history at the touch of a button

Any chance you can post some pictures of kittens doing stuff?

[peter12]

I was a bit concerned until I saw that Paul Erlich was one of the lead scientists on the study. The guy has basically made a career over being hilariously wrong.

[Scrambler]

The Japanese are going extinct... Slow process, but it's happening. Young people are not having children and the large population surge in Japan since WW2 is aging/dying. Add to that Japan's tough immigration laws and this is not changing anytime soon.

http://www.dw.de/impact-of-japans-sh...ble/a-18172873

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/201.../#.VYYbuflVikq

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_decline#Japan

[jonesy]

We showed up, we had a party, we left.

[T@T]

Originally Posted by Regulator75

Aren't we overdue for a massive species ending Meteor strike?

I think we got about 34 million years to go.

[Thor]

Time to join a militia!

[polak]

Were good at finding big meteors. Its the small ones that are a major threat still but they wouldn't be big enough to cause a mass extinction event.

[Hockey Fan #751]

Originally Posted by peter12

I was a bit concerned until I saw that Paul Erlich was one of the lead scientists on the study. The guy has basically made a career over being hilariously wrong.

In 1968 he said that England would cease to exist by the year 2000 among other doozies.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by peter12

I was a bit concerned until I saw that Paul Erlich was one of the lead scientists on the study. The guy has basically made a career over being hilariously wrong.

Maybe so but the evidence and thoughts that another extinction event is ongoing is nothing new. We were hearing about this and looking at the evidence when I was studying Geology in University about a dozen years ago. Professors and reseachers have been putting forth these ideas for a long time.

[Mr.Coffee]

"It can be difficult to estimate this rate, also known as the background rate, since humans do not know exactly what happened throughout the course of Earth's 4.5 billion year history."

This right here is the problem with the article and why it needs to be taken with an enormous grain of salt. However, even besides this point, humans are facing population issues, not extinction issues. How does this planet sustain our existing trajectory on population growth?

Furthermore, if there is a mass extinction event, how many decades or centuries does it take to fully execute? My children's children children? Maybe? Earth time is not human time. Earth time is like generations of us, and by then we'll have colonized elsewhere anyway.

There's no real prediction in the article as to the timing of this. It's like saying, one day, all humans will probably perish, but that isn't really something new, is it? It's going to happen, but probably not even in the conceivable future realistically.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

Furthermore, if there is a mass extinction event, how many decades or centuries does it take to fully execute? My children's children children? Maybe? Earth time is not human time. Earth time is like generations of us, and by then we'll have colonized elsewhere anyway.

There's no real prediction in the article as to the timing of this. It's like saying, one day, all humans will probably perish, but that isn't really something new, is it? It's going to happen, but probably not even in the conceivable future realistically.

Mass extinction events can run many millions of years. The K-T, or K-Pg, event which was a result of a sudden impact and resulting changes was much quicker but other events are slower resulting from changing atmospheric conditions.

The rate at which specific species or family or whatever biological level goes extinct is much more variable. Some may be more resistant to changes and will die of slower or survive altogether while others will perish essentially instantaneously.

[Daradon]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

The 6th mass extinction? Bring on the 7th I say! Doomsday predictions have been going on since the birth of man as we are fixated in predicting our demise.

This isn't a doomsday prediction, it's based on scientific evidence. Species are disappearing at the rate of when the dinos died.

If it'll mean OUR extinction remains to be seen. But it isn't good. When diversity dwindles, the whole planet suffers. Especially the apex animals.

[Handsome B. Wonderful]

Cows aren't going extinct, so I'm not too concerned.