Commonsense,
1. Thank you for your reply.
2. I am told that there is a major, ongoing extinction level event (ELE) going on right now. All I asked for were some numbers to back it up. I didn't think that mindless. Just my opinion.
3. We have 30 or so years of the satellite record. Yet, a strong case can be made that that is an insufficient period of time to make sweeping generalizations or predictions about Earth's climate. Obviously, some will debate that.
Generally, ELE's take place over tens of thousands of years if not longer. So, the dogmatic statement that we are IN an ELE at the moment I think is unsupportable.
4. Are we losing species? Yes.
Are some of those caused by humans via loss of habitat or other human-induced factors? Yes.
Do some species die off all on their own without our involvement? I suspect so. All the other major ELE's occurred without our involvement.
Generally, I like species. Yes, there are some I could do without. We should (as a species) try to protect, nurture and maintian what the Earth has given us. I suspect some will come and go with and/or without our help.
5. There are those who think a warming planet will lead to more extinctions.
What do you expect would happen regarding extinction rates if the Earth cooled by several degrees instead of warmed by several degrees?
What do you think is generally more supportive of life on this planet, "warm" or "cold" temperatures?
6. Since the Earth warms and cools over time for any number of reasons, and species come and go irrespective of temperature swings, what action are we supposed to take today. Especially in light of the fact that WE are one of the species in question. Is it right and honorable to destroy our own in order to 'save' others?
7. Quote:
"As to your second question, your original post was inflammatory in a deliberately stupid fashion - though I suppose you could have been making a failed attempt at "cute". Asking for a listing of the species which have gone extinct, when everyone knows that most species have not been discovered and of those which have been discovered nobody knows all of which still survive, is a request for the impossible."If my request for a listing of terminated/ing species and conversely the list of new/new-found species was "a request for the impossible," then how can one dogmatically state we are in a current, ongoing ELE? Not trying to be cute. Just a question.
This is somewhat related to the current CAGW discussion. If told, "We're ALL gonna die!!!," I'd just like more definitive numbers to support a definitive proposition.
8. I just don't see the numbers...
I see this:
But I don't see the tall line delineating the current, ongoing ELE.
And I see this:
Source:
muller.lbl.gov/papers/Rohde-Muller-Nature.pdfAnd I can find this:
"Earth
may be on the brink of a sixth mass extinction on the scale of the apocalyptic event that wiped out the dinosaurs."
"The researchers say that unless action is taken now to reverse the harmful effects of human activity on eco-systems, a full-blown mass extinction
could occur within a few centuries. Recovery from such an event, which could eradicate more than three-quarters of all life on Earth, may then take millions of years."
"‘If currently threatened species – those officially classed as critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable – actually went extinct, and that rate of extinction continued,
the sixth mass extinction could arrive within as little as three to 22 centuries."
Source:
thewatchers.adorraeli.com/2011/03/03/sixth-mass-extinction-that-will-eradicate-75-of-life-on-earth-is-drawing-closer/It appears to me this is still in the "could be" era. I think that's the one that follows the Anthropocene.
Enjoying the discussion. No, I don't try to be 'deliberately stupid,' though I am sure I get close at times.
Stay well. Cheers...