2/3 Of Wild Life Potentially Gone By 2020

This story raises some troubling predictions, I know the particular methodologies that lead to the figures in the title and article have been called into question, however it's based off a trajectory of current wildlife decline since 1970.. Even if there is some imprecision in the predictions, it is still pretty sad that this is happening to the extent it is and some are calling it the next mass extinction event. To go along with these events, I believe there is also a push to say that we are moving to a new "Anthropocene" geological era.


http://www.complex.com/life/2016/10/world-lose-two-thirds-wild-life-by-2030

 

Meanwhile the local deer, raccoons, and coyotes around here are booming out of control. Any animal species that can learn to leach off human stupidity will do alright. Well, until we finish the planet off for human life. Which is looking to be a lot sooner than most people think.

2016 hit 1 full degree above normal average Earth temperature anomalies. That may not sound like much but scientists have been saying for decades now that a 2 degree difference will be apocalyptic. The irreversible point of a massive human extinction level event like never before.

Can you spot the exponential growth?



If that's the bottom of an exponential bell curve, and it sure as hell looks like one. HUMAN life will be potentially gone by 2030.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/mar/28/rsbp-garden-birdwatch-survey

 

They also predicted we would run out of oil by 2010.
Not to mention the world would be getting much hotter (it's actually got a bit cooler)
And before that in the 1970s they predicted a coming ice age (it got a bit warmer)
In 1990 they predicted 50% of us would have HIV by now ... then BSE, Avian flu, swine flu, etc.
There's money and power to be made in scaremongering. It's how your government controls you.

Anyway in 2020 I'll be 74, dead or a care home, why should I worry about what happens then?

 

Clearly you can't, unless you think 'exponential' means a change of 1c in 130 years, I think the description should be 'trivial'.
Could someone even measure to 1c accuracy in 1880?
How many samples did they take in 1880, and over what percentage of the earths surface?

Let's think about this in a scientific way,
Measuring outside temperatures in central London in 1880,
Then cut all the trees down and concrete all over the 100 surrounding miles.
I'm surprised it isn't measuring 10c hotter in 2010.

 

I don't think this thread is about those animals who actually can thrive near humans.

It's like watching a meadow full of grass and nettles and conclude well this field is full with plants. Nothing wrong here.

Sure the world will keep turning without elephants, rhinos, tigers etc. But does the existence of these species really mean nothing? There's no inevitable need for them to go extinct yet humans will cause them to be in the near future. And those are animals that technically can be missed (although it will probably impact the ecosystems they are in to some extent), but what about certain insects which will impact the amount of birds, and plants. Just one example. Does human agrarian monoculture, heavy industry and intensive farming really excuse all these consequences? And with those animals on top of the food chain like elephants, rhinos etc.: they are for a large part the victim of poverty in Africa and superstition in Asia. Even more unnecessary and sad.

 

No shortage of birds round where I live. In the city they are declining, but this ain't the city.

 

LOL, is there a dome over London that I'm unaware of? Your excuses show zero real world understanding. The "curve" doesn't even take off until after the 1940's. You can live in denial all you want but I'll be watching to see what 2017 reaches. If the TA hits 2.2 degrees, you can just continue to believe that we're not the least bit fucked.

 

You forgot that in 83 they were predicting that in 10 years north America would be overrun by bees....damn were they wrong on that one.

 

At least I know what 'exponential' means.

 

The average global temperature, whatever precisely that is, is steadily rising. Even though it's flattened out pretty much over the past 15 years. Climate science is right and denying the fact that next year it will probably shoot up by another whopping 0.2C is futile.

 

Remember that like 20 years ago you would ride a car in the countryside in certain periods of the year and your front window was covered in dead bugs? That was normal. How was that the last couple of years?

It aint the whole world either. Maybe you live near an ideal bird spot and you would be the last to notice any chance there.

 

I'm not denying that species are in decline. Just making an observation.

This latest media spin is just more fear mongering though.

Let's have a new runway at Heathrow! Oh and by the way the world is probably going to die in five years.

Oh no, what are we going to do!

And of course, behind the curtains the world leaders are pushing through the next stage in their evil plans to control all our lives without too many people noticing.

 

I would consider no bugs on my windscreen an improvement.
I'm also waiting for the promised warmer summers in the UK, instead they just predicted 3 months of winter snow.

 

Wow, three months of snow in the winter? Imagine that.

 

Well, it is not fearmongering in the case of animals like rhinos and elephants. Sure maybe there are 100 elephants left in 2050, wooptyfuckingdo! Nothing to worry about then huh (I'm not attacking you WD just reacting to what you, among others, say with a thought or two)
Btw: in the Netherlands it might be much worse for wild birdlife then near you. We're the champs in intensive agrarian monoculture and a big part of this country has always been a hot spot for migrating birds.

Acknowledged that, no worries

Sure, no bugs at all is awesome. On the short term at least.

 

Maybe they are planning to hoist robots on us, to have silicon "life" replace the loss of carbon life.

 

Like this?

 

I think that likely for many people who understand the potential consequences, this kind of mentality is what prevents us from action.

But it goes beyond the ideal given in your scenario, in the city I live there are pretty much only pidgeons year round, some parrot type birds flock during the summer and a couple different bugs seasonally. That is basically the totality of animal life I see in my immeadiate enviroment, yet it doesn't seem that many people are concerned about this, I think many are placated with malls and smart phones and bars and all the other distractions that have disconnected us from the rest of nature.

 

so i'm the only one here who still has a thick layer of bug guts left on my windshield from the summer?