Morgan BellModern Day Extinctions
September 12th 2008 04:21
Fossils indicate that 95% of all species that have ever existed have now vanished.
Up until recently there was a steady rate of extinction of one species per year over the last 3.5 billion years.
In the past some mass extinctions have occurred due to catastrophic events such as meteorite impacts or periodic global climate changes.
Modern extinctions are almost entirely due to the consequences of human action (directly or indirectly). These human actions include:
- hunting
- polluting habitats
- clearing land for farming or development
In the 1990s species were becoming extinct at the rate of 3 per hour (27,000 per year)
Over the last 400 years there were 611 documented extinctions in vertebrates. Vertebrates are the tip of the iceberg in the animal kingdom, making up a mere 5% of species - invertebrates account for 95% of all species.
Over the last 400 years 1.8% of mammals have become extinct.
** all facts and figures from Cassells Atlas of Evolution 2001
Up until recently there was a steady rate of extinction of one species per year over the last 3.5 billion years.
In the past some mass extinctions have occurred due to catastrophic events such as meteorite impacts or periodic global climate changes.
Modern extinctions are almost entirely due to the consequences of human action (directly or indirectly). These human actions include:
- hunting
- polluting habitats
- clearing land for farming or development
In the 1990s species were becoming extinct at the rate of 3 per hour (27,000 per year)
Over the last 400 years there were 611 documented extinctions in vertebrates. Vertebrates are the tip of the iceberg in the animal kingdom, making up a mere 5% of species - invertebrates account for 95% of all species.
Over the last 400 years 1.8% of mammals have become extinct.
** all facts and figures from Cassells Atlas of Evolution 2001
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Comment by Louie
randomthoughts
Phil's Wellness Tips
here's hoping there aren't too many more
cheers
Louie
Comment by Morgan Bell
Deep Pencil
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Movie Train
too many more humans or red-neck politicians?
theyre two different species you know! haha
no, apparently us humans really are stomping all over the other critters and sucking all the diversity out of our global ecosystems!
thanks for the comment!
Comment by RubySoho
Music Zone
Thought Zone
:uckily I have another...
Poor Noah. After all the effort he went to to make sure all the billions of different species went on that eency, weency little boat with him...we go and do this....
Comment by Morgan Bell
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great minds think alike?
yeah Noah would not be impressed with how his descendants have destroyed all his hard work!
oh well maybe god will just create us a new world after this one is ruined?
Comment by Lilla
From The Home Front
Enviro Warrior
Dream Herald
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Fascinating statistics... makes me wonder who will record our passing when we humans go by way of the dodo?
not long now, by the looks of it... personally I hope Gordon Ramsey is one of the first to go...
oh there I go again, all doom and gloom...
somebody stop me.
Lilla ...
Comment by Lady Henrietta Muddling
Potter in a Harry
Sometime a couple of years ago.
Old men maintain that 95% of all really good blogs that have ever existed have now vanished.
Up until recently there was a steady rate of extinction of one blog per night since Orble burst onto the scene. It's all about readership apparently and being a brown-nosing sycophantic arse-licker.
In the past some mass extinctions have occurred due to certain bloggers having more than one blog.
Modern blog extencitions are almost entirely due to the fact that certain blokes have a sense of humour that not many people get.
These human humours include:
- attacking women without brains
- polluting puerile blogs with witty comments
- clearing or defragging the pc for webcam sex.
In the 2000s really great bloggers were beoming extinct at the rate of 1 per year. (where's Bruce MacAvaney when you need him?)
Over the last few minutes my spine, which is connected to my jawbone, started aching. Spineless pricks make up 99% of the rich. As for icebergs? I loved the film Titanic.
Over the past 400 moments, I have thought about women's mammaries at least 400 times and not given a single thought to extinct species. I'm too busy trying to survive as a semi human.
** all bullshit is the product of an overactive imagination 2008.
Comment by Morgan Bell
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well they (the wikipedia) reckon each species lasts about 10 million years from its first appearance and we (homo sapians) have been here about 200,000 years so far . . . so i think the rest of the planet has a long time left before they can take a breath of relief and write about us!
poor old Gordon . . . .
Comment by Morgan Bell
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haha i like this creative spin you have put on my post . . . an overactive imagination and a bizarre blogging network is a dangerous combination!
so true . . .
Comment by Jason King
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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horrific is a good word for it!
i was a bit taken aback when i read the magnitude of the destruction myself . . .
Comment by Cheryl J
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"I’d like to share a revelation that I’ve had, during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you aren’t actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with its surrounding environment, but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply, and multiply until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You are a plague."
It seems we are. Sad.
Comment by Morgan Bell
Deep Pencil
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that is one of my favourite quotes ever!
Comment by metin