Is There A Way To Avoid Another Mass Extinction?
Five times in Earth’s past, life has been nearly extinguished, the vast majority of plants and animals annihilated in a geologic instant. University of California, Berkeley Paleontologist Anthony Barnosky suspects that the wheels may already be in motion to trigger the sixth mass extinction. Only this time, instead of volcanoes or asteroids, humans are the trigger. As humans reduce habitat for other species and alter the atmosphere, we are pushing plants and animals toward extinction around 12 times faster than normal rates. In Dodging Extinction: Power, Food, Money, and the Future of Life on Earth, Barnosky says that it is not too late to halt that trend. He is the contributor and expert in the new documentary “Mass Extinction– Life At The Brink” which airs on Smithsonian Channel on Monday, December 1 at 9:00 pm ET.
Humans are "the ultimate invasive species" says @tonybarnosky http://t.co/ZXtSo6k539
— Leonard Lopate (@LeonardLopate) December 1, 2014
The Permian Extinction, which killed off 90% of life on Earth, was caused by a changing climate. http://t.co/ZXtSo6k539
— Leonard Lopate (@LeonardLopate) December 1, 2014
By 2070, coral reef might be extinct, along with many other species that are critical to our planet. @LeonardLopate http://t.co/TWVAR776ZU
— Laura Diamond Dixit (@diamonddixit) December 1, 2014
Humans are a force of nature "every bit as powerful" as the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs says @tonybarnosky http://t.co/ZXtSo6k539
— Leonard Lopate (@LeonardLopate) December 1, 2014
