Mass Extinction

Discussion in 'Earth Science' started by Tristan, Jan 15, 2002.

  1. Tristan Leave your World Behind Valued Senior Member

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    1,358
    What do you believe to be causing the Mass extinctions on earth. I believe that there have been five already. This is where 90% of all living organisms are completely obliterated.

    Do you believe that We could be in one of those mass extinctions waiting to happen? Do you think it possibly could be self induced? With your ideas of what could happen, provide any ideas you might have on how it will (or did) affect the earth climate as well as orbit of sun, ect..

    And if we knew that one was coming, at this state in our evoulution (political as well as biological) do you think it would be possible for a global organization to form with the best interests of "all humans" in mind? Meaning a organization dedicated to finding a way to stop the catastophic event from happening or how to insure the survival of the human race.
     
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  3. Mr. G reality.sys Valued Senior Member

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    Within a couple Billion years, the evolved Sun will become so bloated that Earth will revolve around it fully submerged beneath its surface.

    Talk about mass extinction...

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  5. goofyfish Analog By Birth, Digital By Design Valued Senior Member

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    By this I'm assuming you mean "caused by man?"

    Chemical spills, urban sprawl, ocean dumping, a US president who acts like corporations have the right to pollute the planet...

    Let's face it, mankind is ruthless when it comes to the destruction of flora and fauna. According to the Smithsonian, in the period from 1995 to 2000 Amazonian forests were disappearing at a rate of almost two million hectares a year (from a paper in the journal Environmental Conservation (William F. Laurance, Ana K. M. Albernaz, and Carlos Da Costa. 2001. Is deforestation accelerating in the Brazilian Amazon? Environmental Conservation 28:305-311). That's equivalent to seven football field a minute. How many species are disappearing there just to satisfy our need for this raw material alone?

    "Caused by man?" I'd have to say so.


    Please. We cannot even get together and find a way to stop killing ourselves.
     
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  7. bun Registered Senior Member

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    <What do you believe to be causing the Mass extrications on earth...



    Cataclysmic natural events, like collisions with large asteroids/meteors.



    <Do you believe that We could be in one of those mass extinctions waiting to happen?



    Impossible to say, although we are now tracking potential "near earth" approaches.



    < Do you think it possibly could be self induced?



    Impossible to self-induce, except perhaps with global nuclear war. It is arrogant to think that man is sufficiently powerful to generate mass extinction on an order of 90 percent. Man can certainly obliterate his own species, and a large number of others, principally mammals, but nature will step in and fill the niches with other life forms which may or may not be like those which now populate the earth. Visualize super insects.



    <And if we knew that one was coming... organization dedicated to finding a way to stop the catastrophic event from happening or how to insure the survival of the human race.



    Yes. Survival instincts would outweigh politics, if it truly were a question of survival of the human race.
     
  8. whatsherface imaginary entity Registered Senior Member

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