Holocene Extinction: Study Says World in Midst of 6th Period of Mass Extinction

[RealTalk]

scientists from princeton, stanford, and cal-berkeley seem concerned...thoughts?

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

The world is embarking on its sixth mass extinction with animals disappearing about 100 times faster than they used to, scientists warn, and humans could be among the first victims of the next extinction event.

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.

[zealanddonk]

In before Reg says Mass extinction is part of the Big Paleo conspiracy.

[4Dragons]

In order to sell you a cure, one must manufacture an illness.

[Hockey Guy]

So the smartest most adaptable animal on planet Earth is in line to be 1 of the first victims of the next extinction event even though they say that animals are "disappearing about 100 times faster than they used to". That makes total sense as long as you don't think about it too much.

[4Dragons]

So the smartest most adaptable animal on planet Earth is in line to be 1 of the first victims of the next extinction event even though they say that animals are "disappearing about 100 times faster than they used to". That makes total sense as long as you don't think about it too much.

The way we'll go out is being hit by a big fucking rock. Anything else is 5 million years off.

[BetCheckBet]

So the smartest most adaptable animal on planet Earth is in line to be 1 of the first victims of the next extinction event even though they say that animals are "disappearing about 100 times faster than they used to". That makes total sense as long as you don't think about it too much.

Agree. Perhaps its just a horribly written article but I can't understand why the researchers would use models focusing on past vertebrates which have little relevance to humans. No organism has come close to our ability to modify our environment.

My guess though is that if you read the real study the prediction says that humans won't be extinct for another few million years.

Edit after doing some of my own research looks like it would be about 60k years.

[sonatine]

ITT: polishing the rails on the titanic. looking forward to not reading this thread ever again because the PFA neo-con science club is going to tardalanche all over it shortly.

[4Dragons]

ITT: polishing the rails on the titanic. looking forward to not reading this thread ever again because the PFA neo-con science club is going to tardalanche all over it shortly.

But that makes for the best threads imo.