A professor famous for predicting the imminent demise of the human race at regular intervals since the 1970s has predicted the imminent demise of the human race.
Paul Ehrlich, who is the Bing Professor of Population Studies at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, says it's definitely on this time. In a tinned statement issued on Friday, the arm-waving prof lays it on the line:
There is no longer any doubt: We are entering a mass extinction that threatens humanity's existence ... the window of opportunity is rapidly closing ...
"[The study] shows without any significant doubt that we are now entering the sixth great mass extinction event," Ehrlich said ...
"If it is allowed to continue, life would take many millions of years to recover, and our species itself would likely disappear early on," said lead author Gerardo Ceballos.
The original article can be found at The Register, with coverage of the cited study coming from ScienceMag.org
(Score: 2) by mendax on Wednesday June 24 2015, @06:46PM
The human being is the most adaptive creature to have evolved on this planet. Without modern technology members of the species have adapted to just about every climate this planet has to offer. The species will survive, but I'll wager that our civilization is doomed.
It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles.
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Wednesday June 24 2015, @07:47PM
I disagree. Rats are far more adaptive than humans. And don't get me started on bacteria.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 2) by mendax on Thursday June 25 2015, @03:24AM
I beg to differ. You don't find rats living in an igloo, or in the hottest deserts.
It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles.