Species Extinction

Animal extinction from Razif Rahman

Species Extinction

Species Extinction

Just to illustrate the degree of biodiversity loss we're facing, let’s take you through one scientific analysis...

The rapid loss of species we are seeing today is estimated by experts to be between 1,000 and 10,000 times higher than the natural extinction rate.*

These experts calculate that between 0.01 and 0.1% of all species will become extinct each year.

If the low estimate of the number of species out there is true - i.e. that there are around 2 million different species on our planet** -  then that means between 200 and 2,000 extinctions occur every year.

But if the upper estimate of species numbers is true - that there are 100 million different species co-existing with us on our planet - then between 10,000 and 100,000 species are becoming extinct each year.

*Experts actually call this natural extinction rate the background extinction rate. This simply means the rate of species extinctions that would occur if we humans were not around.

** Between 1.4 and 1.8 million species have already been scientifically identified

Some Animals that are in Danger of Extinction

          Polar Bears

                       Tigers

                       Elephants

                       Rhinos

                       Gorilla

                       Giant Panda

                       Marine Turtle

Global Warming

Climate Changes Affecting The Public Health

Climate change is one of the most serious public health threats facing the nation, but few people are aware of how it can affect them. Children, the elderly, and communities living in poverty are among the most vulnerable. Climate change will worsen smog and causes plants to produce more pollen pollution, increasing respiratory health threats, particularly for people with allergies and asthma.

Most climate scientists agree the main cause of the current global warming trend is human expansion of the "greenhouse effect"1 — warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth toward space.Certain gases in the atmosphere block heat from escaping. Long-lived gases that remain semi-permanently in the atmosphere and do not respond physically or chemically to changes in temperature are described as "forcing" climate change. Gases, such as water vapor, which respond physically or chemically to changes in temperature are seen as "feedbacks."