- The RATE OF BIODIVERSIY LOSS is an astounding 1,000 to 10,000 times higher than a natural background extinction rate.
“The current rate of species extinction far exceeds anything in the fossil record.”
(Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B (Biological Science))
Ecosystems may be headed towards permanent damage as countries fail to achieve goals to protect animal and plant life. (UNEP, 2010)
- Up to 270 unique species are now being lost every day.
- The Earth is said by some experts to be undergoing her “sixth great extinction event” due to climate change as well as other mostly human‐caused factors.
- As global average temperature increase exceeds about 3.5 degrees Celsius, there may be extinctions of up to 70% of species around the globe. (IPCC)
New 2010 reports on species affected:
- Antarctic penguin populations declined more than 80% since 1975 due to loss of sea ice.
- Arctic caribou are in steep decline due to climate change-caused starvation as early thaws and freezing over events make plant food inaccessible.
- Similar to 2007 and 2009, in September 2010, tens of thousands of walruses came ashore in an unusual behavior, due to lack of sea ice where they normally rest.
- Migratory birds dying because of ill-timed travel that leaves them without adequate food supplies when they arrive at destinations and/or places like wetlands drying that no longer provide habitat.
 Reference
- Radford, T. (2004, March 19). Warning sounded on decline of species. The Guardian. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2004/mar/19/taxonomy.science
- Whitty, J. (2007, April 30). Animal Extinction - the greatest threat to mankind. The Independent. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/animal-extinction--the-greatest-threat-to-mankind-397939.html
- Romm, J. (2010, November 9). Royal Society: “There are very strong indications that the current rate of species extinctions far exceeds anything in the fossil record.” Climate Progress blog. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from
http://climateprogress.org/2010/11/09/royal-society-rate-of-species-extinctions-far-exceeds-anything-in-the-fossil-recordo/
- Hance, J. (2010, May 10). Collapsing biodiversity is a ‘wake-up call for humanity’. An online acticle on the United Nations Environment Programme [UNEP] report. Mongabay.com. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0510-hance_wake_up.html
- ibid 17.
- Koch, W. (2010, November 12). Global warming harms Antarctica’s penguins, book says. USA Today. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/11/global-warming-threatens-antartica-penguins/1
- Struzik, E. (2010, September 23). A Troubling Decline in the Caribou Herds of the Arctic. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from Yale, School of Forestry & Environmental Studies website http://e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2321
- Goldenberg, S. (2010, September 13). The Guardian. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/sep/13/walrus-haul-out-alaska
- Gray, R. (2010, September 5). Migratory birds decline in UK due to low African rain. The Telegraph. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/7981699/Migratory-birds-decline-in-UK-due-to-low-African-rain.html
- Sample, I. (2009, July 28) Human activity is driving Earth’s ‘sixth great extinction event’. The Guardian. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jul/28/species-extinction-hotspots-australia
- Romm, J. (2009, April 9). Time Magazine: How climate change is causing a new age of extinction. An online acticle on the (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC] report. Climate Progress blog. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from
http://climateprogress.org/2009/04/09/time-magazine-how-climate-change-is-causing-a-new-age-of-extinction/
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