mass extinction – Page 2 – Desdemona Despair

Map showing Biodiversity Intactness Index for the year 2020 at 0.25° resolution. The global average is 77 percent. Data: Natural History Museum, 2022. Graphic: WWF / ZSL

October 27, 2022

WWF’s Living Planet Report 2022 reveals devastating 69 percent average drop in wildlife populations since 1970 – “We have cut away the very foundation of life and the situation continues to worsen”

TORONTO, 12 October 2022 (WWF-Canada) – Monitored wildlife populations — mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and fish — have seen a devastating 69 per cent drop on average since 1970 according to WWF’s Living Planet Report (LPR) 2022. The report highlights the stark outlook of the state of nature and urgently warns governments, businesses and the public to take […]

The conservation status of the world’s 58,497 tree species in 2022. Graphic: BGCI

September 17, 2022

At least one-third of Earth’s trees face extinction – Scientists issue “warning to humanity” that tree species extinction could bring economic as well as ecosystem crisis

LONDON, 1 September 2022 (BGCI) – Today a new paper by leading scientists and the Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) reveals the severe impact that tree species extinction will have on other species, ecosystems and livelihoods. This comes exactly one year on from the landmark State of the World’s Trees report, which examined global tree species and found that a […]

Gail Zawacki at the Occupy Wall Street protest in New York City, 23 September 2011. She carries a sign that reads, “Industrial civilization is murdering our Earth”. Photo: Gail Zawacki

June 18, 2022

The Diva of Doom: Remembering the late, great Gail Zawacki – “In the end, what matters more than time?”

By James Galasyn 18 June 2022 (Desdemona Despair) – I was greatly saddened this week to read an email from climate activist Richard Pauli informing me that Gail Zawacki, the “Diva of Doom”, passed away on 9 June 2022. The community of environmental activists has lost one of its most eloquent and entertaining voices. She […]

Two bird species that are extinct but not listed as such, for fear of committing the “Romeo Error”. Both species are still listed as Critically Endangered by IUCN because of the slim chance that one or more birds may still be alive. Such species are therefore not counted among extinct species, and vast sums of money are often spent in the vain hope that they will be found again. I Left: Eskimo curlew (Numenius borealis (Forster)), from Audubon (1827–1838: plate 208; Wikimedia Commons). Right: Bachman's warbler (Vermivora bachmani (Audubon)), from Audubon (1827–1838: plate 185 (detail); Creative Commons, Rawpixel). Graphic: Wikimedia Commons / Rawpixel

January 19, 2022

Earth on trajectory to Sixth Mass Extinction say biologists – “Including invertebrates is key to confirming that we are indeed witnessing the onset of the Sixth Mass Extinction in Earth’s history”

By Marcie Grabowski 14 January 2022 (UH News) – Mass biodiversity extinction events caused by extreme natural phenomena have marked the history of life on Earth five times. Today, many experts warn that a Sixth Mass Extinction crisis is underway, this time entirely caused by human activities. A comprehensive assessment of evidence of this ongoing […]

Banner from the WWF web site on 29 December 2021 showing more than 40,000 species are threatened with extinction, comprising 28 percent of all assessed species. Graphic: WWF

December 30, 2021

WWF: Looming mass extinction could be biggest since the dinosaurs – “One million species could go extinct within the next decade, which would be the largest mass extinction event since the end of the dinosaur age”

29 December 2021 (DW) – Ever-growing environmental threats are pushing many animals and plants to the brink of extinction — the scale of which hasn’t been seen since dinosaurs died out, the German branch of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said on Wednesday. The stark warnings came as WWF Germany released its “Winners and Losers of 2021,” an annual […]

Risk levels for climate-sensitive health outcomes based on different greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation scenarios. Graphic: IPCC WG 2 Sixth Assessment Report / AFP

June 23, 2021

Hunger, drought, disease: UN climate report reveals dire health threats – “The basis for our health is sustained by three pillars: the food we eat, access to water, and shelter. These pillars are totally vulnerable and about to collapse.”

By Patrick Galey 23 June 2021 (AFP) – Hunger, drought and disease will afflict tens of millions more people within decades, according to a draft UN assessment that lays bare the dire human health consequences of a warming planet. After a pandemic year that saw the world turned on its head, a forthcoming report by […]

Screenshot of the COVID-19 Dashboard by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) on 30 December 2020. Graphic: JHU

December 30, 2020

Doomiest graphs of 2020

30 December 2020 (Desdemona Despair) – 2020 was the year that everybody got cozy with graphs showing exponential growth. A number of high-quality data sources showing the progression of the pandemic were published online, so anybody could rummage through the grim numbers and estimate their local risk. A few standout sites made it into Desdemona’s […]

Polygrapha suprema (Schaus, 1920), a rare and endangered butterfly exclusive to the high mountains of Atlantic Forest (Brazil), is threatened by habitat loss. Photo: Augusto Rosa

February 11, 2020

Half-a-million insect species face extinction – Scientists warn humanity about worldwide insect decline – “The current insect extinction crisis is deeply worrying. Yet, what we know is only the tip of the iceberg.”

By Marlowe Hood 10 February 2020 (PhysOrg) – Half of the one million animal and plant species on Earth facing extinction are insects, and their disappearance could be catastrophic for humankind, scientists have said in a “warning to humanity”. “The current insect extinction crisis is deeply worrying,” said Pedro Cardoso, a biologist at the Finnish […]

A boy cradles the body of dead endangered Brush-tailed rock-wallaby, found near a muddy puddle of water after a bushfire in Gosford, New South Wales, Australia, on 6 January 2020. The boy asked his father, Tim Faulkner, “They’re all dying aren’t they Dad?” Faulkner told him it was his job to save the world. Photo: Tim Faulkner / Facebook

January 13, 2020

Estimated number of animals killed in Australia bushfires rises to more than one billion – “Events like this may well hasten the extinction process for a range of species”

8 January 2020 (University of Sydney) – Professor Chris Dickman has revised his estimate of the number of animals killed in bushfires in NSW to more than 800 million animals, with a national impact of more than one billion animals. Several weeks ago Professor Dickman, from the University of Sydney’s Faculty of Science, estimated that 480 […]

Study skins of the extinct Lana’i and Kaua’i ‘akiaola. Photo: Paul Sweet / AMNH

December 27, 2019

All of the species declared extinct in the 2010-2019 decade – “The trends that connect these 160 extinctions are true of the biodiversity crisis more generally”

By Ryan F. Mandelbaum 16 December 19 (Gizmodo) – Lonesome George, the last of the Pinta Island tortoises, died in 2012. George’s story is the perfect extinction story. It features a charismatic character with a recognizable face, an obvious villain, and the tireless efforts of naturalists. The population of the Pinta Island tortoise species was […]