6th Extinction

Discussion on living for a better and more responsible future
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lancashire lass
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Joined: 28 Jun 2007, 15:17

6th Extinction

Post by lancashire lass »

I have recently completed a free online course from FutureLearn called Extinctions: Past and Present and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was only 5 weeks long and not too scientific (but not dumbed down either) The course explains the beginning of life and diversification of species and the possible reasons for the past 5 major extinctions, leading up to the present and the current situation. I found it very thought provoking to see just how humans are having an impact on so many ecosystems in such a small timescale compared to previous extinction level events, and how fragile some of them are. It's not just about increased CO2 levels and global warming but just about everything you can think of from over fishing, pollution, destroying habitats on an unbelievable scale, farming methods, consumerism and tipping the balance in the environments. If you thought being green was just about reducing CO2 and not burning fossil fuels, you might want to think again. I'd highly recommend the course just out of interest (I like learning about prehistory) but I think you might find it also makes you so much more aware that the 6th extinction event is a lot closer than you think and has nothing to do meteor strikes, nuclear war or plagues
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