The "E" Word.

 

It was only a matter of time before the issue of mass extinction surfaced again.  Are we already in the throes of a sixth mass extinction event? If we are, what has caused it? What can we do about it? When?

A team of climate scientists from the University of Hawaii led by Robert Cowie has churned through the mountain of scientific literature and data and published a paper that has re-ignited the debate.  The good part is that it's a well-written report that non-science types can digest. The bad news is that no sane person will like the conclusions.

The authors conclude that we are indeed in an extinction event, the 6th in the 450 million year-history of life on this planet, and it's been underway for at least 30 years. 

If you're not up for reading the report and its mountain of footnotes, Vice.com has a pretty good summary.


“We consider that the Sixth Mass Extinction has probably started and present arguments to counter those who would deny this,” said the team, which also included biologists Philippe Bouchet and Benoît Fontaine of the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris, France, in the article.

“Denying it is simply flying in the face of the mountain of data that is rapidly accumulating, and there is no longer room for skepticism, wondering whether it really is happening,” added the authors.

...In addition to raising alarms about a possible mass extinction, Cowie and his colleagues address a range of counterarguments that they say downplay the severity of human pressures on world species, or even suggest that humans should harness these ecological changes for our own benefit.

The team argues that this kind of “laissez-faire attitude to the current extinction crisis is morally wrong,” according to the article, and advocates for more urgent measures to address the loss of species due to human activity.

“I feel obligated to express opinions about what we feel should be done given this crisis situation,” Cowie said. “I'm not just going to present the data and say be done with it. I'm going to say what we should do to resolve this issue, because it's an important issue.”

I won't dwell on this. The links are there if you want to read the paper itself or the Vice article.  Fill your boots.

Comments

  1. TrailblazerFebruary 1, 2022 at 4:05 PM

    Add this to your list.

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/01/extreme-heat-oceans-passed-point-of-no-return-high-temperatures-wildlife-seas

    I suppose we would have a chance to reverse things if we could accept that we would have to stop never ending growth be it financial or, more importantly, population!

    I have read some interesting articles on population growth with the surprise of China losing population but as usual the fine print shows other sorrows with Africa exploding..

    TB

    ReplyDelete
  2. TrailblazerFebruary 1, 2022 at 4:14 PM

    May I add..
    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/01/sierra-leone-families-starving-chinese-trawlers-industrial-overfishing-destroying-lives

    It has long been known that much of the white fish we call Cod sold in our supermarkets could well be some subspecies caught off the African coast.
    When food becomes scarce world wide you know we are in trouble.

    TB

    ReplyDelete

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