Quote: The loss of biodiversity is one of the most critical current environmental problems, threatening valuable ecosystem services and human well-being (1–7). A growing body of evidence indicates that current species extinction rates are higher than the pre-human background rate (8–15), with hundreds of anthropogenic vertebrate extinctions documented in prehistoric and historic times

From Science Advances

http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/1...00253.full

We're good at what we do.  

I think it's important, before anyone jumps down my throat, that we try to preserve biodiversity, ofc.

This isn't so surprising to be honest, with human abuses of the environment this is bound to happen

It's also a chain reaction of sorts, when one species goes extinct it can lead to a decline in others that used to hunt it for food.

Even without abuse it's going to happen.  There is no such thing as a free lunch, and we, as a species...require a whole hell of alot of lunch.

Quote:It's also a chain reaction of sorts, when one species goes extinct it can lead to a decline in others that used to hunt it for food.

-and if we didn't erect such an impregnable internal wall between ourselves and "all those animals" we might realize the implications for us....as -the- apex predator of planet earth, eh?

I think at some point the only animals that will still be around will be those we domesticate, and those that can adapt to cities. Maybe sad, but likely true.

First, watch the video.  If you cannot see it in your country, click on "Show Content" below to unhide a bit of the text that is relevant.  For others, you should watch the video first, as the hidden text is a bit of a spoiler.

(June 20, 2015 at 1:55 pm)Chad32 Wrote: I think at some point the only animals that will still be around will be those we domesticate, and those that can adapt to cities. Maybe sad, but likely true.

You missed the part about us going extinct too.

Dinosaurs stretched their -dominance- out for 135 million years.  We, as a single species, are -slightly- more capable than they ever were (even adding all of their success together), and we're what, 2 million years and change in, at the most generous of estimates.?  

The sun only has so much gas left in it's tank......but best estimates give us about 1billion years or so before it begins to make earth inhospitable to all forms of life known....the very upper limit of what (all of)our biology can handle -even by adaptation, by 2.8.......just a rock. Right? We have something that they don't...something that helps us when biology and adaptation fail us. Technology....and a hell of a headstart should there ever arise another tech using species like ourselves.

We only have to win what, 10 for the dinosaurs 1, starting with the advantageous position we are in now, to put us on the -ultimate- earthly podium.."last men standing before lights out"..and then we only have to drag our asses across the line for another 1.8 or so....to call it GG? We might actually manage that.

(June 20, 2015 at 3:27 pm)Rhythm Wrote: Dinosaurs stretched their -dominance- out for 135 million years.  We, as a single species, are -slightly- more capable than they ever were (even adding all of their success together), and we're what, 2 million years and change in, at the most generous of estimates.?  

But the dinos weren't as well equipped and willing to destroy their environment as we are. So lights out will probably happen a lot sooner than within 1 to 2.8 billion or even 135 million years.

IDK, that's the sort of apocalypse that people have been predicting for thousands of years.....but has failed...year after year, day after day, hour after hour, minute after minute.....to come to pass.  Here we are.
(until we aren't, I suppose, of course.)

I don;t think that it will be men which cause the extinction of men any more than dinosaurs where the cause of the extinction of dinosaurs. It's an awfully anthropocentric notion. There's plenty else out there looking to gut us at any given moment, we are all safer with each other, objectively, rather than without each other...and that takes into account war and murder and all sorts of nasty shit. That's who we are. I'm not a fortune teller, though, so...leave that to those interested.