Scientists are beginning to suspect that world reptile populations could be as threatened as those of amphibians - uncertainty due to lack of tracking. Of course it is bad, with all orders disappearing across the board. And the news comes with the inevitable tag line:
“…extinction rates of animal species are much higher than had been predicted only a few years ago.”
Sad news about the Great Barrier Reef:
“…the Great Barrier Reef could be “functionally extinct” within decades, with deadly coral bleaching likely to be an annual occurrence by 2030.”
‘Flat-Earth’ libertarians and reactionaries continue to remain in denial, but scientists are converging in agreement that human activity is the most significant factor in global warming over the last century. What is worse is that the ‘wailing Cassandras’ of the environmental movement were right – global warming will lead to a tremendous numbers of extinctions.
Of course there is a rhetorical silver lining for the SUV-huggers; the scientists also determined that the Kyoto protocol was by far too wimpy to have a serious impact on global warming, so in blowing off the treaty, President Asteroid-Impact hasn’t significantly influenced the final outcome.