Ready for a laugh? - Global warming could destroy 15-37% species by 2050: Study

Nature Journal ^ | 01-08-2003 | Reprinted in Press Trust India

[Brian_Baldwin]

Global warming could destroy 15-37% species by 2050: Study

Press Trust of India

Washington, January 8

Global warming may cause the extinction of 15 to 37 per cent of species by 2050, a study published on Thursday in the noted science journal Nature has warned.

"The midrange estimate is that 34 per cent of plants and animals will be committed to extinction by 2050," said economist Chris Thomas of Britain's University of Leeds, who conducted the study along with 17 other researchers.

"We are talking about 1.25 million species. It is a massive number", Thomas said.

The study was conducted by researchers in a range of habitats, including Britain, the wet tropics of northwestern Australia and the Mexico desert.

The researchers called for "rapid implementation of technologies" to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and warned that the scale of extinctions could climb up much higher because of mutually reinforcing interactions between climate change and habitat destruction caused by agriculture, invasive species and other factors.

Though the researchers admitted that there were many uncertainties in both climate forecasts and the computer models they used, they said their prediction could come true if industrial nations did not reduce emissions of greenhouse gases that trap heat in the atmosphere.

"We're already seeing biological communities respond very rapidly to climate warming," Thomas said.

Among the already threatened species that could become extinct are Australia's Boyd's forest dragon, a tree-dwelling lizard, and Europe's azure-winged magpie.

[Brian_Baldwin]

Though I would post this laugher just for comic relief while so many of us anguish the Bufflo that Bush has pulled on conservatives and America regarding his outrageous kiss-up and sell out, and for naught of any political gain but much greater political loss, of America for the Hispanic vote

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[Brian_Baldwin]

I guess all evolution stops at 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Half of all species die at such sustained temp., and no new species can arise. I understand Mars is so very cold. And that is why it is just jumping with life, as we can see from the latest images coming back thanks to the USA space program.

[Voltage]

Just how many different types of endanged slugs are there?

Excluding the promoters of Kyoto of course.

[somemoreequalthanothers]

Yellowjackets........God, let yellowjackets be on the extinction list........

[sharkhawk]

That's my question, How many new species will arise? We all know humans have created many new species through cross breeding etc.

[Johnstone]

How many species will actually thrive if the thermostat is nudged up a bit?

[Brett66]

99.9% of envirowacko's brain cells are fried.

[Orangedog]

Add to that wasps, hornets, fire ants. Oh yeah, and whatever species my ex wife belongs to. Whatever it is, it ain't human and contributes nothing to the food chain.

[bolobaby]

Any species that dies from any factor will likely be included under the umbrella of global warming. They could get killed by natural predators and they'll say "those predators only thrived because of global warming, therefore it is a global warming related extinction."

They did the same thing with AIDS-related illnesses.

[HIDEK6]

Global warming could destroy 15-37% species by 2050

If they're all Democrats, who cares?

[caisson71]

Oh ye of little faith.

[formercalifornian]

I am still waiting for South Dakota to become the next Spring Break Mecca

[muir_redwoods]

Think of it as a head start on the next generation of fossil fuel.

[Orangedog]

Sometimes it's good for a species, or group of them to die off. Take dinosaurs, for example. Sure, I bet they were neat, but I'm kinda glad they're gone. Ever see what happens to a car after encountering a deer by surprise on a country road late at night? Imagine what a new Camry would look like after an encounter with a brontosaurus.

[Highway Kind]

Spotted owls, whooping cranes, little blind fish...
mmmmmmmmmmm...spotted owl...

[freedomcrusader]

Such shameless sensationalism. True scientists with real scientific results leave the gloom and doom to policy makers. These guys are just a bunch of hacks.

[visualops]

34 per cent of plants and animals will be committed to extinction by 2050," said economist Chris Thomas

I always turn to economists for scientific research.

[plain talk]

If the 34% number is the mid-range estimate, I wonder what the high range estimate is - 100%. WE ARE ALL GONNA DIE!

[winner3000]

"We are talking about 1.25 million species. It is a massive number", Thomas said.

...it's also a laughably false one!