Tag Archives: extinction

Biggest threat to biodiversity is not climate change: it’s agriculture, fishing, and hunting

[ This article makes the point that other factors are far more to blame for biodiversity loss than climage change. And with “peak everything“, especially peak oil, but also peak coal, and peak natural gas — greenhouse gas emissions will … Continue reading

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Nuclear war between India and Pakistan more likely, up to a billion deaths

[ It doesn’t take an all out war between the United States and Russia to cause a billion or more deaths.  Even a small war could do that (Robok, A. 2007. Climatic consequences of regional nuclear conflicts. Atmospheric Chemistry and … Continue reading

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Largest Mass Extinction caused by Mega-Eruptions in Siberia

Kerr, R.A. December 20, 2013. Mega-Eruptions Drove the Mother of Mass Extinctions.  Science  Vol. 342:1424  [Excerpts] After 20 years of trying, researchers have finally convicted massive volcanic eruptions in Siberia as the culprit in the greatest of all mass extinctions, … Continue reading

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Are humans an invasive species?

Rob Jordan. April 5, 2016. Populations of early human settlers grew like an ‘invasive species,’ Stanford researchers find. Stanford University. When humans colonized South America, their populations grew like a typical invasive species – an initial explosive growth rapidly reached … Continue reading

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Booklist: Limits to Growth, Overpopulation, Collapse, War, Extinction

 More booklists Limits to Growth Donella Meadows. 2004. The Limits to Growth: The 30 year update       V Smil. Enriching the Earth: Fritz Haber, Carl Bosch, and the Transformation of World Food Production. K Gever. Beyond Oil: The threat to food … Continue reading

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Humans driving species to extinction 1,000 times the natural rate

[ According to a paper published in Science the current rates of extinction are 1000 times the background rate. This estimate is higher than previous estimates is due to a more sophisticated analysis. Other extinction news: 2017-1-18 World’s primates facing … Continue reading

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E. O. Wilson to save humanity from extinction, get rid of religion

[ Below is an excerpt, out of order, from New Scientist’s 21 Jan 2015 interview with E.O. Wilson “Religious faith is dragging us down“. The extinctions we cause will kill us too, says the sociobiology pioneer – the best thing … Continue reading

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Gail Tverberg: 8 pitfalls in evaluating green energy solutions

Eight Pitfalls in Evaluating Green Energy Solutions November 18, 2014 by Gail Tverberg Does the recent climate accord between US and China mean that many countries will now forge ahead with renewables and other green solutions? I think that there are … Continue reading

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People are devouring the earth: 83% of land, 60% freshwater runoff, 40% of plants, 35% of productivity of oceanic shelf, 98% of land that can grow rice, wheat, corn

Hillary Mayell. October 25, 2002. Human “Footprint” Seen on 83 Percent of Earth’s Land. National Geographic News. There is little debate in scientific circles about the importance of human influence on ecosystems. According to scientists’ reports: Humans use 83% of … Continue reading

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20% of Invertebrate species threatened with extinction.

Brendan Borrell. Sep 3, 2012. One Fifth of Invertebrate Species at Risk of Extinction. Freshwater snails and reef-building corals are among the threatened groups. Nature & Scientific American. One in five of the world’s invertebrate species are threatened with extinction, … Continue reading

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