The Sixth Extinction

[Satyr]

Disclaimer: This little essay involves the use of science and assumes that the Earth is about 4.5 billion years old. If you happen to be heavily into creationism, you'd probably be better off just skipping this. I am already aware that I am a heathen and a blasphemer and need no further updates on my condition. Thanks...

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Since recently I've decided that I enjoy being around animals much more than people, I've been reading up on various topics concerning anything fuzzy, feathered or finned. My armchair studies eventually led me to start looking at extinct animals and the reasons for their extinction.

Most people are aware that there was a mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous that wiped out the dinosaurs. What a lot of people don't realize is that there have been FIVE complete mass extinctions. We are currently at what can presumably be the beginning of the SIXTH.

First major extinction (c. 440 mya): Climate related (sudden global cooling), caused a massive change in marine life and wiped out about 25% of families. (families can consist of a few to thousands of species)

Second major extinction (c. 370 mya): End of Devonian period, probably climate related. 19% of families lost.

Third major Extinction (c. 245 mya): End of Permian period. Suspected climate change in addition to plate tectonic movement. 54% of families lost. (big one!)

Fourth major extinction (c. 210 mya): End of Triassic. No precise causes known for it, but fossil records show that about 23% of families stopped showing up after this.

Fifth major extinction (c. 65 mya): The famous one. End of Cretaceous. Reasons are debated and numerous: climate change, large volcanic activity, a big honkin' meteor crashing to Earth, God, aliens, etc. Take your pick. 17% of families lost. Marked the end of the dinosaur era.

We are currently observing the Sixth Extinction. What's so different and so troubling about this one is that it's the first time in the history of mass extinctions that ONE species has caused massive amounts of other species to die off. Yeah, you guessed it...we suck.

- Phase One began when the first modern humans began to disperse to different parts of the world about 100,000 years ago.

-Phase Two began about 10,000 years ago when humans turned to agriculture.

We are the first species on the planet that doesn't need to live within it's own ecosystem. The entire WORLD is our ecosystem. We haven't lived within nature's boundaries for 10,000 years. We have become outsiders.

Most scientists agree there is a limit on the capacity of earth as far as humans are concerned. There are currently six billion or so people here now. The numbers increase logarithmically, so there will probably be around 8 billion by 2020. The upper limit of human capacity with regard to agriculture is about 13-15 billion. No one seems to be really sure of the exact number, but it's a foregone conclusion that we can only support a finite amount of people with current methods of farming and food production.

With massive agriculture, you get deforestation. You end up with smaller and smaller habitats for the other species. With mass fishing you remove a large part of the ecosystem that the larger organisms depend on for food. Essentially, the current methods we've developed to feed ourselves will eventually wipe out every natural habitat left on the planet...and with hundreds of species already obliterated because of us, we're off to a great start!

Anyway that's about it. I just thought I'd take a moment to point out that we're all a bunch of big-brained bipedal ********. Thanks for reading this.

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Sources and further reading:

The Sixth Extinction by Niles Eldredge

The Sixth Extinction, Richard Leakey and Roger Lewin

It Happened to Him. It's Happening to You. Michael Novacek (Washington Post)

Holocene Extinction Event (Wikipedia)

The Sixth Extinction, Virginia Morell (National Geographic)

 

[Minus]

...I just thought I'd take a moment to point out that we're all a bunch of big-brained bipedal ********. ...

No, I for one am a small-brained bipedal *******.

 

[Satyr]

No, I for one am a small-brained bipedal *******.

Well...then I suppose you're off the hook.

The rest of you have a lot of explaining to do. I expect about 6 billion letters of apology to the animal kingdom on my desk by tomorrow morning.

 

[Ithought]

Cheers~!!
I don't join group like let’s save the Earth.
Because then we have to kill the human.

 

[SilentThinker]

Technology has brought about the advancement of human races.

Agriculture
War
Transportation
Industries

Deforestation is one of the factors.Fossil fuels and oil is already getting exhausted and the value went up.

Tranportation brings out all the pollutions and the competition in industries are growing.

Weapons and tanks advances as technology grew.

The importance of agriculture would be growing since population increases.

 

[Satyr]

Technology has brought about the advancement of human races.

Agriculture
War
Transportation
Industries

Deforestation is one of the factors.Fossil fuels and oil is already getting exhausted and the value went up.

Tranportation brings out all the pollutions and the competition in industries are growing.

Weapons and tanks advances as technology grew.

The importance of agriculture would be growing since population increases.

Industry, technology and war all start with agriculture. With agriculture you get sedentary populations. Nomadic hunter/gatherer practices are abandoned. There's no need to wander around when you've got your own fields. So you build a city. Cities take up land and technology and industry grow out of the need to take care of the land and the people on it.

War starts with the people outside the cities that think you've got a great thing going and want it for themselves. Religion is often a factor, but that's usually just a smokescreen for land disputes.

Basically, we pollute the world, fight with each other and use up resources because at one point someone stopped walking south and said:

"Look guys, let's just stay here for awhile and plant something."

I don't mean to rip on agriculture. Growing stuff is kind of fun, it's just that it seems things started to go downhill as soon as we started doing it en masse.

Anyway, I just thought the articles were interesting.

 

[Minus]

Industry, technology and war all start with agriculture.

They may become more advanced when a population settles but all three can be found in various nomadic tribes with no basis in agriculture.

 

[SilentThinker]

If I am not mistaken,people started first on agriculture.But later,industries grew and there were less areas for agriculture because land areas are needed.

Industries need to continue growing for competence in the world.

Since populations are booming,there is a greater need for agriculture now.

Natural resources are now strained.One of the reasons for wars is because lack of resources and less dependent on trade.War may be brewing.

 

[Satyr]

They may become more advanced when a population settles but all three can be found in various nomadic tribes with no basis in agriculture.

Where? and how? I mean, in order to have industry you have to have settled somewhere. To do that, you have to have a pretty good means of which to support a population as far as food.

I suppose carts and blowguns could be considered "technology" and beadwork sales could be considered "industry". But that's not usually the type of thing that pollutes the sky and poisons rivers.

 

[evanescencefan91]

yayy i use to be big in all this stuff, and i still consider myself a greenie, but it felt all too depressing and fruitless we're alll skrewed and i'm too lazy and depressed to do anything about it anymore, i just try not think abiut it *sigh* hooray for my lameass transformation into another iignorant american,.. no no i know how scred we are, i just try not to think about it, becuase that would tottally provoke a major anxiety attack.


but during my first exitensial crisis when i first really started hating people i recall joining an unusual enviromental group on the web, it's not as bad as it sounds. Just stop making babies people, there are thousands of homeles and orphaned children around the world help one of them out instead

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voluntary_Human_Extinction_Movement

 

[Satyr]

yayy i use to be big in all this stuff, and i still consider myself a greenie, but it felt all too depressing and fruitless we're alll skrewed and i'm too lazy and depressed to do anything about it anymore, i just try not think abiut it *sigh* hooray for my lameass transformation into another iignorant american,.. no no i know how scred we are, i just try not to think about it, becuase that would tottally provoke a major anxiety attack.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voluntary_Human_Extinction_Movement

Don't get me wrong, I'm just as irresponsible as everyone else. I can't remember the last thing I've attempted to have recycled. I've never hugged a tree or offered a sandwich to squirrels.

I just thought it was interesting that there's a major extinction event in the mail that has a root cause in human involvement. Depressing maybe, but interesting all the same. :/

 

[Minus]

I suppose carts and blowguns could be considered "technology" and beadwork sales could be considered "industry". But that's not usually the type of thing that pollutes the sky and poisons rivers.

You got it, though you left out war. Still just a beginning without developing the others to a higher degree. They did exist.