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.

[inspector]

This stupid article was in the NY Times today. My quasi-liberal friend pointed it out to me and said, "See leading scientists predict eradication of up to 30% of all species by 2050". So, I picked up the paper and read the article and then pointed out to him that none of these so called scientists were from any leading scientific instituion recognized for global climate study. There were only 19 of them anyway, not what I would call a consensus in the scientific community but since it was written in the NY Times well then it must be literally translated as if it was gospel. Many other misleading headlines appeared in today's NY times, too. Nothing new here...

[SubMareener]

The world by 2012:

For a more detailed view click on the continents.

[stevem]

I thought this was a Ted Danson prediction. He said about 10 years ago that in 10 years the oceans would be devoid of life. It seems to me it's smarter to make these predictions far enough out so we will all be dead before thinking people realize how dumb and stupid the original prediction was.

[visualops]

I Googled the guy, and he's an ECOLOGIST, but more exactly, a "conservation biologist".
Maroon who wrote the article didn't even get that right lol

[glorgau]

Is there a line in Vegas or this happening? I bet that you could get odds of 1000 to 1.

[KingNo155]

Evolution BABY! Darwins rule: Survival of the fitest!

[KingNo155]

LOL thats funny!

[eleni121]

Send Chris Thomas to the Northern latitudes in the summer and let the mosquitoes have at him.

Then he can report back on the "massive" number of species lost.

[Jackson Brown]

The world by 2012:

Hey, I clicked on the map for North America and it looks like I'm set up to own waterfront property!

[Hotdog]

Do the Democrats qualify as a species?

[nuconvert]

he's an ECOLOGIST, but more exactly, a "conservation biologist".

LoL.. Oh sheesh. economist, ecologist, whatever......
I imagine he's none too happy with the writer......
Still, doesn't change my mind about him being a kook.

[Sgt_Schultze]

Thanks for the funny link. The author, Scallion, claims his Matrix Institute knows events years in advance of the rest of the world. Too bad he didn't invest in this company when it was founded by this motley crew...

I guess you can't know everything, huh?

[talleyman]

But you forget the Bush administration's "gutting of environmental protection laws" - the additional toxins that will be dumped into the air and water will cause enough mutations to more than offset the projected losses. See, we're way ahead on this!!!