Domov
Events
Latest images
Hľadať
Zoznam užívateľov
Registrácia
Prihlásenie
Scarlett- Posts : 665
Join date : 10.01.2021
27012022
Earth is in the midst of a sixth mass extinction event, this time caused by human hands, a new study suggests.
The five previous ones were caused by natural phenomena, either due to natural climate shifts or asteroid impacts. This sixth one, however, was anything but natural, according to a study published in the peer-reviewed academic journal Biological Reviews.
The current extinction event is not even a new phenomenon, but has been going on since at least the 16th century.
Earth was once home to two million known species. According to the study, however, since 1500 CE, as many as 7.5%-13% of them may have been lost, meaning from 150,000 to 260,000 different species.
Some deny this is happening. Or, more precisely, they deny that decline or outright extinction of many species point to a mass extinction event. But the study, led by the University of Hawaii's Prof. Robert Cowie, argues that this is the result of bias.
Most of these assessments focus on mammals and birds, the research professor said, completely overlooking invertebrates, the majority of biodiversity on Earth.
The severity of the situation varies. Specifically, plant life is impacted at a slower rate, and land-based species – specifically on islands like Hawaii – are much more affected than on continents.
Is the loss of species a natural phenomenon?
“Humans are the only species capable of manipulating the biosphere on a large scale,” Cowie emphasized in a statement. “We are not just another species evolving in the face of external influences. In contrast, we are the only species that has a conscious choice regarding our future and that of Earth’s biodiversity.”
Most of these assessments focus on mammals and birds, the research professor said, completely overlooking invertebrates, the majority of biodiversity on Earth.
Birds of a different gender need a break from each other - so split to different temperate areas. (credit: Thomas Kinto/Unsplash)
The severity of the situation varies. Specifically, plant life is impacted at a slower rate, and land-based species – specifically on islands like Hawaii – are much more affected than on continents.
Is the loss of species a natural phenomenon?
“Humans are the only species capable of manipulating the biosphere on a large scale,” Cowie emphasized in a statement. “We are not just another species evolving in the face of external influences. In contrast, we are the only species that has a conscious choice regarding our future and that of Earth’s biodiversity.”
Elon Musk weighs in on mass extinction
Cowie isn't the only one who recognizes the problem, though others may have a very different approach to both the nature of the problem and its solution.
According to billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, in direct response to a tweet about Cowie's study, it is inevitable that all life on Earth will go extinct – regardless of the mass extinction event being done by human hands.
Rather than humans being the cause, though, he points to a crisis of a very different nature: The expansion of the Sun.
But this can also be averted, he argued, should humanity spread throughout the stars and become a multi-planetary civilization.
Musk has proposed this many times before, specifically colonizing Mars, and has made clear his ambitions through ventures of his company SpaceX.
But Musk isn't alone in thinking that spreading humanity to other planets is a possible solution.
According to Israeli-American astronomer Avi Loeb of Harvard University, a possible light sail vessel could one day be used as a "Noah's ark" of sorts to save life on Earth. This, he argued, is important, because mankind has already “spent a considerable amount of money into destroying the planet.”
His idea would be different from Musk's colonization one, however.
“It doesn’t need to be a big spacecraft – it just needs to have an artificial intelligence, a large enough computer with the DNA of every living creature and a 3D printer," Loeb said. "We will know, hopefully in the next few decades, how to reconstruct synthetic life, and with a 3D printer we could possibly do it.
https://www.jpost.com/science/article-692709
"With a computer, 3D printer and AI, we could reconstruct everything.”
The five previous ones were caused by natural phenomena, either due to natural climate shifts or asteroid impacts. This sixth one, however, was anything but natural, according to a study published in the peer-reviewed academic journal Biological Reviews.
The current extinction event is not even a new phenomenon, but has been going on since at least the 16th century.
Earth was once home to two million known species. According to the study, however, since 1500 CE, as many as 7.5%-13% of them may have been lost, meaning from 150,000 to 260,000 different species.
Some deny this is happening. Or, more precisely, they deny that decline or outright extinction of many species point to a mass extinction event. But the study, led by the University of Hawaii's Prof. Robert Cowie, argues that this is the result of bias.
Most of these assessments focus on mammals and birds, the research professor said, completely overlooking invertebrates, the majority of biodiversity on Earth.
The severity of the situation varies. Specifically, plant life is impacted at a slower rate, and land-based species – specifically on islands like Hawaii – are much more affected than on continents.
Is the loss of species a natural phenomenon?
“Humans are the only species capable of manipulating the biosphere on a large scale,” Cowie emphasized in a statement. “We are not just another species evolving in the face of external influences. In contrast, we are the only species that has a conscious choice regarding our future and that of Earth’s biodiversity.”
Most of these assessments focus on mammals and birds, the research professor said, completely overlooking invertebrates, the majority of biodiversity on Earth.
Birds of a different gender need a break from each other - so split to different temperate areas. (credit: Thomas Kinto/Unsplash)
The severity of the situation varies. Specifically, plant life is impacted at a slower rate, and land-based species – specifically on islands like Hawaii – are much more affected than on continents.
Is the loss of species a natural phenomenon?
“Humans are the only species capable of manipulating the biosphere on a large scale,” Cowie emphasized in a statement. “We are not just another species evolving in the face of external influences. In contrast, we are the only species that has a conscious choice regarding our future and that of Earth’s biodiversity.”
Elon Musk weighs in on mass extinction
Cowie isn't the only one who recognizes the problem, though others may have a very different approach to both the nature of the problem and its solution.
According to billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, in direct response to a tweet about Cowie's study, it is inevitable that all life on Earth will go extinct – regardless of the mass extinction event being done by human hands.
Rather than humans being the cause, though, he points to a crisis of a very different nature: The expansion of the Sun.
But this can also be averted, he argued, should humanity spread throughout the stars and become a multi-planetary civilization.
Musk has proposed this many times before, specifically colonizing Mars, and has made clear his ambitions through ventures of his company SpaceX.
But Musk isn't alone in thinking that spreading humanity to other planets is a possible solution.
According to Israeli-American astronomer Avi Loeb of Harvard University, a possible light sail vessel could one day be used as a "Noah's ark" of sorts to save life on Earth. This, he argued, is important, because mankind has already “spent a considerable amount of money into destroying the planet.”
His idea would be different from Musk's colonization one, however.
“It doesn’t need to be a big spacecraft – it just needs to have an artificial intelligence, a large enough computer with the DNA of every living creature and a 3D printer," Loeb said. "We will know, hopefully in the next few decades, how to reconstruct synthetic life, and with a 3D printer we could possibly do it.
https://www.jpost.com/science/article-692709
"With a computer, 3D printer and AI, we could reconstruct everything.”
Share this post on:
Komentáre
Re: Nová štúdia naznačuje, že Zem je uprostred šiesteho hromadného vymierania, tentoraz spôsobeného ľudskou rukou.
27/1/2022, 23:06Scarlett
Nová štúdia naznačuje, že Zem je uprostred šiesteho hromadného vymierania, tentoraz spôsobeného ľudskou rukou. Tých päť predchádzajúcich bolo spôsobených prírodnými javmi, či už v dôsledku prirodzených klimatických zmien alebo dopadov asteroidov. Tento šiesty však nebol podľa štúdie publikovanej v recenzovanom akademickom časopise Biological Reviews všetko, len nie prirodzené. Súčasná udalosť vymierania nie je ani novým fenoménom, ale prebieha minimálne od 16. storočia. Zem bola kedysi domovom dvoch miliónov známych druhov. Podľa štúdie sa však od roku 1500 nášho letopočtu mohlo stratiť až 7,5 % až 13 % z nich, čo znamená 150 000 až 260 000 rôznych druhov. Niektorí popierajú, že sa to deje. Alebo, presnejšie, popierajú, že úbytok alebo úplné vyhynutie mnohých druhov poukazuje na masové vymieranie. Štúdia vedená profesorom Robertom Cowiem z Havajskej univerzity však tvrdí, že ide o výsledok zaujatosti. Väčšina týchto hodnotení sa zameriava na cicavce a vtáky, povedal profesor výskumu, pričom úplne prehliada bezstavovce, väčšinu biodiverzity na Zemi. Závažnosť situácie je rôzna. Konkrétne je život rastlín ovplyvňovaný pomalším tempom a suchozemské druhy – konkrétne na ostrovoch ako Havaj – sú ovplyvnené oveľa viac ako na kontinentoch. Je úbytok druhov prirodzený jav? "Ľudia sú jediným druhom, ktorý je schopný manipulovať s biosférou vo veľkom meradle," zdôraznil Cowie vo vyhlásení. „Nie sme len ďalší druh, ktorý sa vyvíja tvárou v tvár vonkajším vplyvom. Na rozdiel od toho sme jediným druhom, ktorý má vedomú voľbu, pokiaľ ide o našu budúcnosť a budúcnosť biodiverzity Zeme. Väčšina týchto hodnotení sa zameriava na cicavce a vtáky, povedal profesor výskumu, pričom úplne prehliada bezstavovce, väčšinu biodiverzity na Zemi. Závažnosť situácie je rôzna. Konkrétne je život rastlín ovplyvňovaný pomalším tempom a suchozemské druhy – konkrétne na ostrovoch ako Havaj – sú ovplyvnené oveľa viac ako na kontinentoch. Je úbytok druhov prirodzený jav? "Ľudia sú jediným druhom, ktorý je schopný manipulovať s biosférou vo veľkom meradle," zdôraznil Cowie vo vyhlásení. „Nie sme len ďalší druh, ktorý sa vyvíja tvárou v tvár vonkajším vplyvom. Na rozdiel od toho sme jediným druhom, ktorý má vedomú voľbu, pokiaľ ide o našu budúcnosť a budúcnosť biodiverzity Zeme. Elon Musk zvažuje masové vymieranie Cowie nie je jediný, kto pozná problém, aj keď iní môžu mať veľmi odlišný prístup k povahe problému a jeho riešeniu. Podľa miliardárskeho podnikateľa Elona Muska, v priamej odpovedi na tweet o Cowieho štúdii, je nevyhnutné, aby všetok život na Zemi vyhynul – bez ohľadu na to, že ľudskou rukou dôjde k hromadnému vymieraniu. Namiesto toho, aby boli príčinou ľudia, poukazuje na krízu úplne iného charakteru: expanziu Slnka. Ale to sa dá tiež odvrátiť, tvrdil, ak by sa ľudstvo rozšírilo medzi hviezdy a stalo by sa multiplanetárnou civilizáciou. Musk to navrhol už mnohokrát, konkrétne pri kolonizácii Marsu, a svoje ambície dal jasne najavo prostredníctvom aktivít svojej spoločnosti SpaceX. Musk však nie je sám, kto si myslí, že šírenie ľudstva na iné planéty je možným riešením. Podľa izraelsko-amerického astronóma Aviho Loeba z Harvardskej univerzity by možné ľahké plachetné plavidlo mohlo byť jedného dňa použité ako „Noemova archa“ na záchranu života na Zemi. Tvrdil, že je to dôležité, pretože ľudstvo už „vynaložilo značné množstvo peňazí na zničenie planéty“. Jeho predstava by sa však líšila od Muskovej kolonizácie. "Nemusí to byť veľká kozmická loď - stačí mať umelú inteligenciu, dostatočne veľký počítač s DNA každého živého tvora a 3D tlačiareň," povedal Loeb. "Budeme vedieť, dúfajme, že nabudúce niekoľko desaťročí, ako rekonštruovať syntetický život a s 3D tlačiarňou by sme to možno dokázali. "S počítačom, 3D tlačiarňou a AI by sme mohli všetko zrekonštruovať."
Povolenie tohoto fóra:
Nemôžete odpovedať na témy v tomto fóre.