Featured post

View video: Why I Wrote "Mr. Bandookwala, M.B.A., Harvard"

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Extinction before Evolution

The weather has changed. Noticed how hot it was today? At least, those who aren't safely ensconced in airconditioning? Things aren't good says this article in Guardian.

"For the first time since the dinosaurs disappeared, humans are driving animals and plants to extinction faster than new species can evolve, one of the world's experts on biodiversity has warned. Conservation experts have already signaled that the world is in the grip of the "sixth great extinction" of species, driven by the destruction of natural habitats, hunting, the spread of alien predators and disease, and climate change. However until recently it has been hoped that the rate at which new species were evolving could keep pace with the loss of diversity of life. Speaking in advance of two reports next week on the state of wildlife in Britain and Europe, Simon Stuart, chair of the Species Survival Commission for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature – the body which officially declares species threatened and extinct – said that point had now "almost certainly" been crossed."

Persistent nay-sayers can hide behind their cloaks of ignorance. But all is not well with the world's climate. Sure as hell, as I am sweating while typing this.

No comments: