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Monday, February 27th, 2017

Biologists say half of all species could be extinct by end of century

Author:     Robin McKie
Source:     The Guardian (U.K.)
Publication Date:     Saturday 25 February 2017 15.37 EST
 Link: Biologists say half of all species could be extinct by end of century
Stephan:   The stupidity, short-sightedness, and greed of humans is going to affect far more than humans; it will in fact impact the entirety of Earth's matrix of life in ways that the current American administration simply lacks the integrity to acknowledge. I have been following the research on this for several decades now (see SR archives) and the only thing that changes is that the data gets worse and more specific. Will we be able to reverse this? Theoretically we could, but actually I think it unlikely. I suspect that the generation of my grandsons will see the end of Rhinos, elephants, tigers, lions, and sharks to name just a few of the major species that will disappear.

One in five species now face extinction, but that figure could rise to as many as half within 80 years.
Credit: Georgina Goodwin/Barcroft Media

One in five species on Earth now faces extinction, and that will rise to 50% by the end of the century unless urgent action is taken. That is the stark view of the world’s leading biologists, ecologists and economists who will gather on Monday to determine the social and economic changes needed to save the planet’s biosphere.

“The living fabric of the world is slipping through our fingers without our showing much sign of caring,” say the organisers of the Biological Extinction conference held at the Vatican this week.

Threatened creatures such as the tiger or rhino may make occasional headlines, but little attention is paid to the eradication of most other life forms, they argue. But as the conference will hear, these animals and plants provide us with our food and medicine. They purify our water and air while also absorbing carbon emissions […]

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