Hi everyone! It seems like a lot of the eco websites and blogs I read are a lot of doom and gloom. There is no doubt in my mind that we are doing bad things to this planet, but we have to remain hopeful for improving our ways, as well as remain hopeful for that which we do not know. I was recently reading the December issue of National Geographic and they had a snippet about some of the fieldwork that is being done by scientists, archeologists, and the like. I read about a group of scientists on the island Vanuatu (which is in the South Pacific). Over 5-months 150 scientists went over the island studying species. Over 10,000 species were found, 2,000 of them may be completely new to science. It is quoted by French mollusk expert Phillippe Couchet that "80 percent of the world's species remain to be discovered." What an amazing thing to think about since most of the animals, plant life, etc. we hear about are going extinct! Hopefully we can continue to discover WITHOUT harming natural habitats. Reading that article made me hopeful for what our future here on earth holds.
Showing posts with label extinction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label extinction. Show all posts
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Getting excited about what we don't know!
Hi everyone! It seems like a lot of the eco websites and blogs I read are a lot of doom and gloom. There is no doubt in my mind that we are doing bad things to this planet, but we have to remain hopeful for improving our ways, as well as remain hopeful for that which we do not know. I was recently reading the December issue of National Geographic and they had a snippet about some of the fieldwork that is being done by scientists, archeologists, and the like. I read about a group of scientists on the island Vanuatu (which is in the South Pacific). Over 5-months 150 scientists went over the island studying species. Over 10,000 species were found, 2,000 of them may be completely new to science. It is quoted by French mollusk expert Phillippe Couchet that "80 percent of the world's species remain to be discovered." What an amazing thing to think about since most of the animals, plant life, etc. we hear about are going extinct! Hopefully we can continue to discover WITHOUT harming natural habitats. Reading that article made me hopeful for what our future here on earth holds.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Last Chance for Survival!
Over lunch while surfing the web I ran across an brief write up about Axolotl, the "Mexican water monster." Although I have never heard of this creature, I was sad to find out that it is salamander that is close to extinction. Due to human disruption in the axolotl's natural environment, it is predicted that in five years this salamander will be extinct. In further research, I learned that the International Union for Conservation of Nature recently put out their 2008 Red List. A list of endangered species around the world. Some species you may be familiar with like the African Elephant or the Tasmanian Devil. Many of the extinctions are noted to be due to human interference. Others might be due to disease within the species community. The list is long, but here is a link that includes a much shortened list including pictures and a brief description of the species. The full list is 1,642,189 species. To the right is a picture of the Axolotl...what a happy looking guy! Although I believe that some extinction is likely inevitable, I also have to ask: what are we doing to this planet?
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