Posted August 12, 200717 yr This week it was in the news about a Chinese freshwater dolphin declared extinct, the first official extinction of a large vertebrate for more than 50 years. The dolphin lived in the Yangtze River was over fished and polluted. See article here : http://environment.independent.co.uk/wildl...icle2846514.ece Then it was reported that a family of 4 mountain gorillas have been shot dead in a conservation park in Congo. These were apparently not shot by poachers as the bodies were left, it seems they were shot for fun. There are now only 700 left in the world. In todays Independent here: http://environment.independent.co.uk/wildl...icle2856857.ece there is an article describing the possible extinction of 189 species of birds. Isn't extinction part of evolution? Yes. A glance at the fossil record shows how countless species have disappeared over millennia to make room for rival species. But the extinctions that are happening now are far ahead of what has happened before and they are occurring for no meaningful evolutionary reason. We are experiencing a mass extinction event driven by human activity. What were the other major extinctions of the past 500 years? The three previous mammal families gone from the face of the Earth are the giant lemurs of Madagascar, eliminated in the 17th century, the island shrews of the West Indies, probably wiped out by rats that accompanied Colombus, and the Tasmanian tiger, the last known specimen of which died in captivity in 1936. (The most famous creature to have become extinct in the past 500 years, the dodo, was a bird.) Does the loss of a species such as the Yangtze river dolphin matter? Yes... * It shows that the ecosystem of the Yangtze river is in a state of collapse * It reveals the destructive effect that human activity is having on the natural world * It serves as a wake-up call for us to take immediate action to prevent the loss of other species No... * Countless species have disappeared over millennia as a result of competition from rival species * Mass extinctions have occurred before, and the last one wiped out the dinosaurs * We can't be sure the river dolphin has gone - and it is possible that it will reappear Should we be doing more to protect species from extinction? Edited August 12, 200717 yr by brian91
August 13, 200717 yr it depends really upon why they are becoming extinct.... if its a natural dying out of a speciese then maybe its times up, but if its a man made extinction then thats wrong.
August 13, 200717 yr I think it's pretty obvious that the Chinese Freshwater Dolphin becoming extinct is as a direct result of humans polluting the Yangtze river, therefore it is an entirely UN-natural occurrence.. Same goes for the shooting of Mountain Gorillas... Neither of these occurrences has anything to do with evolution - they are merely examples of mankind's greed and total selfishness, and its refusal to live in harmony with its surroundings.. Humanity is a virus on this planet and we are killing it slowly... The theory of Evolution has nothing to do with mindless destruction of our environment, which is what we are doing now... If any form of life deserves extinction, it is humanity, we're worse than sodding locusts.... <_<
August 13, 200717 yr I think it's pretty obvious that the Chinese Freshwater Dolphin becoming extinct is as a direct result of humans polluting the Yangtze river, therefore it is an entirely UN-natural occurrence.. Same goes for the shooting of Mountain Gorillas... Neither of these occurrences has anything to do with evolution - they are merely examples of mankind's greed and total selfishness, and its refusal to live in harmony with its surroundings.. Humanity is a virus on this planet and we are killing it slowly... The theory of Evolution has nothing to do with mindless destruction of our environment, which is what we are doing now... If any form of life deserves extinction, it is humanity, we're worse than sodding locusts.... <_< I agree, there's a big difference between the both.
August 15, 200717 yr Humanity deserves to be Extinct. We have ruined this Planet. There is no point in being the 'Dominant Species', if we throw our responsiblities away by our greed, cruelty, & selfishness. It is like putting the World's Top Surgeon in charge of a Hospital, & then he spends a lot of his time murdering the Patients, raping the Nurses, wrecking all the machinery, & using the Beds as Toilets! Well THAT is the way WE have treated the Earth, & the Plants, Birds, Fish, & Animals that share it with us.....
August 15, 200717 yr Humanity deserves to be Extinct. We have ruined this Planet. There is no point in being the 'Dominant Species', if we throw our responsiblities away by our greed, cruelty, & selfishness. It is like putting the World's Top Surgeon in charge of a Hospital, & then he spends a lot of his time murdering the Patients, raping the Nurses, wrecking all the machinery, & using the Beds as Toilets! Well THAT is the way WE have treated the Earth, & the Plants, Birds, Fish, & Animals that share it with us..... harsh but accurate....
August 15, 200717 yr Humanity deserves to be Extinct. We have ruined this Planet. There is no point in being the 'Dominant Species', if we throw our responsiblities away by our greed, cruelty, & selfishness. It is like putting the World's Top Surgeon in charge of a Hospital, & then he spends a lot of his time murdering the Patients, raping the Nurses, wrecking all the machinery, & using the Beds as Toilets! Well THAT is the way WE have treated the Earth, & the Plants, Birds, Fish, & Animals that share it with us..... A pretty spot on comparison really..
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