Good odds that a mass extinction is going on right now as you read this.
Is it time we start saying the E word?
May 30, 2014 4:04am PDT by Pakalolo
http://m.dailykos.com/story/2014/05/30/1301299/-Is-it-time-we-start-saying-the-E-word?detail=email
It is pretty good odds that a mass extinction is going on right now as you read this. This ticking time bomb proves that we are like insects, which live just a few days and will never experience changes in a season much less years. You and I will never know from experience the history of this planet. Much of that history is as abstract to us as the dimensions of the universe. Our planet is a complex, dynamic system that we probably will never fully comprehend. The Earth system, like the human body, comprises diverse components that interact in complex ways. The Earth's atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, and biosphere is a single connected system.
Extinction is a dire word for an extreme event. There has been five mass extinctions in our planets history due to either asteroid impacts, climate change caused by volcanism and the shifting of tectonic plates. The sixth mass extinction is being fueled by you and me. Mass extinctions are relatively short periods of history during which a significant quantity of species die off beyond the standard background extinction (normal process of a species dying out and is usually a natural occurrence).
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We’ve been talking about rising sea levels and extreme weather events,” said author Thom Hartmann. ”Now we need to talk about extinctions.”
Filmmaker Leila Conners and Producers George DiCaprio, Earl Katz, and Mathew Schmid have joined with Hartmann and writer/researcher Sam Sacks to produce a new short film – “Last Hours” – about the most extreme possible outcome of global warming.
Our planet has nearly died before. Five times in the deep geologic history of planet Earth, massive quantities of greenhouse gases have been released through the Earth’s crust. One was provoked by a meteorite strike, others by tectonic and volcanic activity. In each case, these massive releases of greenhouse gases warmed the planet enough to cause global mass extinctions – the death of more than half of all life.
“Last Hours” is a film that explores the possibility that we could be close – centuries or perhaps just decades -to tipping points that could lead to a sixth mass extinction, and relies on input from some of the world’s leading scientists.
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Science Mag illustrates the venting of methane from the Siberian Eastern Shelf.
Remobilization to the atmosphere of only a small fraction of the methane held in East Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS) sediments could trigger abrupt climate warming, yet it is believed that sub-sea permafrost acts as a lid to keep this shallow methane reservoir in place.
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A must see video below, have your medication of choice handy as you will need it. You can download google 3d imaging from You Tube or from Methane Tracker, but my pc would not allow me to do it. Skip to 3:09 as the scientists took a while getting the graphics up and running. This is absolutely bone chilling.
= new reply since forum marked as read
beautiful.
But I'm glad someone is enjoying them still! 
I've noticed an uptick in spiders, though. That can't be good. And centipedes. Yuck!
Thanks for the thread, G_j.
I don't want a world without the animals. I don't want to be here if they're gone
We know when any other species overruns habitat and threatens other species...we've battled the problem before.
But when it's US destroying everything in our path, then what? Oooooooooo!!!!!! babeez babeez More babeeeeeeez$$$$$$$!!!!!!!!!!!!$$$$$$
