Thursday 24 June 2010

Warning: Extinction Event In Progress

Eminent Australian scientist Professor Frank Fenner, who helped to wipe out smallpox, predicts humans will probably be extinct within 100 years, because of overpopulation, environmental destruction and climate change. Source
Whilst I think the time frame might be a little too pessimistic (I believe humans are numerous enough and inventive enough to keep going a little bit more than another 100 years, which might not be such a good thing for planet Earth but there you go), I think Frank Fenner is bang on in pointing out the obvious; we are in the middle of an extinction event of our own making.

We continue to have children when we are constantly involved in making their lives even harder through our consumption rates. It's illogical and simple logic dictates it can't go on. Species are dying out constantly thanks to our need to exploit our world, and we shall reap the costs of that upon on our descendants.

Sadly few seem to understand this and, I suspect, even fewer care. They don't care about their children's future and they don't care about our planet's near future (I have no doubt once we are gone, the planet will "quickly" (in geological terms) repopulate itself). Alas.

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