BajaNomad

Planet has lost half of all marine life since 1970

Cisco - 8-3-2016 at 07:16 PM

The oceans, with more than 90% of the habitable space on Earth, still contain most of the life on our planet, but there's a lot less of it than there was just 45 years ago, according to a deeply dispiriting report from the World Wildlife Fund.

The group, which surveyed 10,000 populations of more than 3,000 species, says marine life—including mammals and birds as well as fish—has declined by 49% between 1970 and 2012, the BBC reports.

The WWF says humans have caused the decline in marine species through overfishing, destruction of habitats like seagrass beds and mangrove swamps, and through climate change, which has caused ocean acidification.

Experts warn the latter could cause a "Great Dying" even worse than what has taken place over the last few decades. Some of the steepest declines were among fish caught for food, including tuna and mackerel, which are down almost 75%, the BBC reports.

"In less than a human generation, we can see dramatic losses in ocean wildlife—they have declined by half—and their habitats have been degraded and destroyed," a WWF spokesman tells Discovery.

"Driving all these trends are human actions: from overfishing and resource depletion, to coastal development and pollution, to the greenhouse gas emissions causing ocean acidification and warming." Not as much is known about deep-sea populations, though declining catches suggest they're also dropping fast, the Independent reports.

(Wildlife on land isn't faring any better.)

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2015/09/16/planet-has-lost-ha...

Zola - 8-4-2016 at 08:31 PM

Very sad and of course very disconcerting. Thanks for sharing. I am going to share this link on my social media.

The Earth's on a Downhill Slide

MrBillM - 8-5-2016 at 03:16 PM

BUT, the GOOD News IS:

We'll ALL likely be Dead before it IS.

So, relax and have a Beer.

Which will accomplish about as much as any "Social Awareness".

Cisco - 8-5-2016 at 03:58 PM

Quote: Originally posted by MrBillM  
BUT, the GOOD News IS:

We'll ALL likely be Dead before it IS.

So, relax and have a Beer.

Which will accomplish about as much as any "Social Awareness".


Just disregard folks.

Bill the sociopath can not think beyond himself.

grizzlyfsh95 - 8-5-2016 at 04:20 PM

I'm with Mr Bill. You are not as important as you think you are.

Bajahowodd - 8-5-2016 at 04:23 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Cisco  
Quote: Originally posted by MrBillM  
BUT, the GOOD News IS:

We'll ALL likely be Dead before it IS.

So, relax and have a Beer.

Which will accomplish about as much as any "Social Awareness".


Just disregard folks.

Bill the sociopath can not think beyond himself.



Truth

Those who THINK ..........

MrBillM - 8-5-2016 at 10:00 PM

............That their Tweets are going to make a difference are Twits.

Social Media Activism is simply Lazy Activism.

Little Effort.

Lack of Cost.

Lots of Self-Esteem.

wessongroup - 8-5-2016 at 10:29 PM

WOW .. Fox News too ... is this true progress or what :biggrin::biggrin:

And just think ... this was reported a year ago ... and things haven't improved all that much ..... and we are apparently heading for another hotter year for the planet

This should be real fun .... as some area's become tropical while others become deserts

Me, I'm waiting for Tarzan and Jungle Book to come out on Blu-ray

[Edited on 8-6-2016 by wessongroup]