Incessant disappearance of species on Earth could lead to the sixth mass extinction within 100 years, reveals a new study.
The study found that 41 percent of all amphibian species are threatened with extinction, the highest at risk group. A more modest, but still alarming, 26 percent of mammal species and 13 percent of bird species are also threatened, the Independent reported.
Quiz on Global Warming
The International Conference on Global Warming (GCGW-2012) will be held in Istanbul, Turkey on July 8-12, 2012. Take this quiz to learn what causes global warming, how it can affect your health, and what can be your contribution to contain it.
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Habitat loss and degradation, as well as specific human activity such as hunting pose a significant hazard to wildlife sustainability and these pressures are only increasing. Similarly, it was thought that climate change will accelerate the rate of extinctions in the future.
Current estimates assumed that the rate of extinction was anything from 0.01 percent to 0.7 percent of all existing species each year. If this were to continue it would constitute a mass extinction, defined as a loss of 75 percent of species, in the next few hundred years.
![Simple Global Warming Solutions]( "Simple Global Warming Solutions")
Concerned about global warming? Look no further; we've decoded some of the best solutions you can adopt to help create a better environment at the individual level.
It's not a new trend. Over the past 3.5 billion years more than 95 percent of all species that have populated the earth have died off.
The most recent Red List of Threatened Species, compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, counts around 46,000 critically endangered species, but it was thought that more species could be at risk.
A major problem in trying to assess the risk to species was the lack of knowledge about how many types of animals there are on the planet. Estimates of the number of species of animals, plants and fungi on earth vary from 2 million to more than 50 million. And very little has been known about certain groups such as insects and fish.
The study is published in journal Nature.
Source: ANI
Simple Global Warming Solutions
Concerned about global warming? Look no further; we've decoded some of the best solutions you can adopt to help create a better environment at the individual level.
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It's not a new trend. Over the past 3.5 billion years more than 95 percent of all species that have populated the earth have died off.
The most recent Red List of Threatened Species, compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, counts around 46,000 critically endangered species, but it was thought that more species could be at risk.
A major problem in trying to assess the risk to species was the lack of knowledge about how many types of animals there are on the planet. Estimates of the number of species of animals, plants and fungi on earth vary from 2 million to more than 50 million. And very little has been known about certain groups such as insects and fish.
The study is published in journal Nature.
Source: ANI
Western Diet Linked to Global Warming
Scientists now say that giving up on the western "meat-loaded" diet or, in other words, not eating too much meat is the single most effective way to reduce global warming or cut greenhouse gas effect.
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 Health Effects of Global WarmingGreenhouse effect causes excessive heat to build up in the earth's atmosphere causing global warming and affects the environment and health. | Advertisement
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