Extinctions – what does that have to do with you?

Extinction Events are occurring in larger numbers now than ever, well at least so far in recorded human history, So here are some facts.

Extinction events –  facts.

  • Seas are warming
  • Ice caps are melting
  • Insects are dying in massive numbers
  • Mammals are dying in great numbers

You have to ask the question where will this all end, if nothing is done, if nothing changes do you think  – you’ll  be f***** . Just another animal after all.  Or do you think the future will be perfect.

The answer of course is this.  You’ll be f*****, if you can’t breathe the air or drink the water nothing else mattersm well at least initially.

You won’t be able to grow food or breathe, that’s it the human race has f***** itself.

This Is How It Ends.

With that in mind, what’s really happening to this small space we live in/on is a little more disturbing. Sure, I’m gonna rant about the environment and I often rant about politics – and I rant even more about people and the stupid things they do, but this is real, the coming couple of paragraphs will explain what is happening now.

Extinction Events.

What used to take 1000 years, is now taking less than a hundred, often less than twenty years.

Can you imagine, finding a new species of plant or animal and for that  species to be wiped off the face of the Earth. Well, according to the WWF (link below) if we lose just .01% of all animals every year – then that’s estimated to be 10,000 species. Fact is these estimates are on the low side – we are losing a lot more.

That new species is now gone, forever.

Once a species goes, it never comes back. Sure you may say that’s not an issue, the planet is big enough to cope, we could do with a few less, no problem

Lets look at  – Panda’s, probably the worst parents in the animal kingdom – they seem be perfectly able to sort their own demise.Fair enough.

What About The Stuff We Cause?

If small change in the environment causes a bit of pollution, let’s say a chemical leaching into a river, that leaching kills a beetle that drinks from the river. It dies.

The beetle, was the sole animal that spread the pollen from one type of plant. That plant is now at risk, it can’t reproduce, if that plant can’t reproduce, the animal that eats it can’t get enough food and dies of starvation.

Multiply that up a few millions times every day and you’ll start to get how much of threat our modern lives are to the stuff that’s all around us.

Filling the planets rivers up with our shit is not for our future. As I’ve said before, if you want to know the true cost of your pollution “ go shit in a hole in your garden  for the next few months – and then explain to me what it’s like living at your house” . Seems that shitting in your own garden is not acceptable – but shitting in A. N Others is.

Carbon dioxide

Damaging the seas that surround us and damages air quality.

Not always easy to see the link. So, here is a little science for you. In the same way that trees and plants use carbon from the atmosphere in order to make stems and leaves, plankton – small water borne plants do the same thing. These are known as carbon based life forms.

But the sea itself also digests a lot of carbon dioxide, effectively absorbing it. Humans release carbon dioxide every time we use fossil fuels, like coal and oil. Once digested by the sea, in a simple chemical reaction it starts to form carbonic acid.

No problem with that of course, it’s chemistry.  Unless you rely on lower levels of acid in order to survive. If you are a  shellfish – you’ll need very low levels of carbonic acid in order to produce your hard outer shell.

So, let’s say you’ve lived in the sea for several billion years.  Like an oyster. Your larvae have been designed to be protected against a certain level of acidity, anything above that and the shell is literally burnt away  – thus killing the oyster larvae. Remember, oysters can’t upsticks and move – like humans can – they’ll die in their millions before nature, very slowly encourages them to move where the seas are more suitable.

Meanwhile of course they will be desperately trying to make sure that natural selection – those that can move to a less acidic sea or those that have a thicker shell will be fine. Not all oysters are made equal, not all will survive.

Along with oysters there are millions of other animals struggling to cope with tiny changes in acidity – many won’t survive.

Then, there is less food for the predators. In nature, everything eats each other. Less food means, less breeding and lower quality of life – which means that an extinction event is made more likely. That’s how the cycle starts. It ends with all life as we know it not surviving.

Plastics equal pollution.

You can’t keep dumping s*** into the sea and expect this is just to soak it up. Our seas are full of shit, that gets broken down by the effects of nature. These become micro particles that are eaten, what eats the micro particles is then eaten by larger organisms. Everything is slowly poisoned by that bottle you’ve just throw away.

Capitalism

Is concentrating resources into the hands of very few people, importantly into the hands of very large companies. These large companies are less and less interested in making sure our environment works – and more concerned about amassing more and more cash.

There is only one reason for a business to exist – and that’s profits. It’s served us humans well, so far. But the flaws within it are massive.

Capitalism takes from our only environment and gives little back. Oh yeah, before the hate mail starts – ‘I ain’t no leftie’- well perhaps more left than right. Another day for that eh.

People

Are all in denial, they hope somebody else will deal with it. You are all in denial, you are all waiting for A.N Other to deal with it – little tip for you – they ain’t.

Meanwhile, the population keeps growing, this increasing population develops more shit that gets thrown into…

This Is How It Should End

You are happy to work hard and invest money in a new kitchen or a new car but you should be even happier to spend 20 minutes per day picking up rubbish in your local park or lobbying your local politicians in order to improve the local environment. You can’t spend your way our of a crisis that is killing wildlife and humans on an increasing scale.

I don’t get you, the local environment it is going to bite you on the arse sooner rather than later. If you don’t step up and take responsibility – who is? Yeah I’m talking to you – what are you doing. I am not interested in them or they, I’m asking you?

Get a grip on this, get some focus. The planet, our only place to live will thank you for it.

Richard

Notes

http://wwf.panda.org/our_work/biodiversity/biodiversity/

From 2012 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17826898

Google Search

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=twenty+year+extinctions&oq=twenty+year+extinctions&aqs=chrome..69i57.8712j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Carbon Dioxide

https://archive.epa.gov/climatechange/kids/impacts/signs/acidity.html

Oyster Shells

https://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/story/Ocean+Acidification’s+impact+on+oysters+and+other+shellfish

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