The Mass Extinction of Species Across the Planet

Environment & Technology
1

'Grim' Report Warns 40% of US Animals at Risk of Extinction

"We are currently experiencing and causing the Sixth Extinction—the mass extinction of species across the planet," said the head of NatureServe, which also found a third of plants nationwide are under threat.

Underscoring the need for humanity to overhaul its relationship with nature, 34% of plants species and 40% of animal species across the United States are at risk of extinction while 41% of U.S. ecosystems could collapse, according to an analysis published Monday by the nonprofit NatureServe.

"For 50 years, the NatureServe Network has been collecting the information necessary to understand biodiversity imperilment in the United States. This new analysis of that data, a first in 20 years, makes crystal clear the urgency of that work," said the group's vice president for data and methods, Regan Smyth.

"It's suicidal of us to pretend that business as usual is more important than safeguarding the natural world we all depend on."

"Two-fifths of our ecosystems are in trouble. Freshwater invertebrates and many pollinators, the foundation of a healthy, functional planet, are in precipitous decline," she pointed out. "Understanding and addressing these risks is critical if we are to forestall devastating consequences for the biodiversity that humanity needs to survive."

Noting that roughly a third of plants are in danger, the report—Biodiversity in Focus: United States Edition—explains that "this is an alarming general finding, but certain taxa face even greater threats. For example, 48% of cactus species are at risk of extinction, while around 200 tree species (about 20%) are at risk of extinction."

"Of the hundreds of grass species that form our nation's great prairies and marshes, about 19% are at risk of vanishing forever," the document states. "Preventing plant extinction is essential to maintaining ecosystem function and the services that wildlife and people rely upon."

https://twitter.com/natureserve/status/1622614674914017281

NatureServe
NatureServe711×948 290 KB

As for animals, the analysis says that "as a group, species associated with fresh water, including amphibians, snails, mussels, crayfish, and many aquatic insects, have the highest percentage of at-risk species, highlighting the importance of conservation strategies to protect freshwater ecosystems."

"Among pollinators, bees are particularly threatened, with 37% of assessed species at risk," the report continues. "The conservation needs of these, and other invertebrate species, are often overlooked, yet many invertebrates are integral to maintaining the ecological functions of freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems."

Ecosystems across the country face potential "range-wide collapse due to extensive threats such as land-cover conversion," the publication warns. "Tropical ecosystems in the U.S. are all under substantial risk, but account for relatively small proportions in number and area."

"Temperate grasslands, boreal grasslands, and shrublands stand out among highly threatened ecosystems that extend over vast areas of the country, with 51% of the 78 grassland types known to be at risk of range-wide collapse," the report adds. "Temperate forests, boreal forests, and woodlands have also experienced multiple pressures, leading to an at-risk status for 40% of the 107 types of native U.S. forests."

image-of-priority-areas-for-conserving-unprotected-imperiled-species-in-the-united-states

NatureServe president and CEO Sean T. O'Brien stressed that "we are currently experiencing and causing the Sixth Extinction—the mass extinction of species across the planet. NatureServe's data highlight where the threats are right here at home."

"The plants, animals, and ecosystems found in our state, tribal, and federal lands are key components of our cultural and natural heritage," he said. "We should be proud of the biodiversity in our backyard and should prioritize protecting what is here, now."

The report is just the latest to emphasize the growing threat to various species. Others include the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, updated in December during a summit in Montreal that ultimately produced what many experts and advocates agree is a "weak" global framework to protect biodiversity.

The IUCN update revealed "a perfect storm of unsustainable human activity decimating marine life around the globe," Bruno Oberle, the group's director general, said at the time. He warned that "we urgently need to address the linked climate and biodiversity crises, with profound changes to our economic systems, or we risk losing the crucial benefits the oceans provide us with."

The NatureServe analysis provoked similar demands for action. As Reuters reported:

Vivian Negron-Ortiz, the president of the Botanical Society of America and a botanist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who was not involved in the NatureServe report, said there is still a lot scientists do not know and have not yet discovered about biodiversity in the United States, and that NatureServe's data helped illuminate that darkness.

More than anything, she sees the new data as a call to action.

"This report shows the need for the public to help prevent the disappearance of many of our plant species," she said. "The public can help by finding and engaging with local organizations that are actively working to protect wild places and conserve rare species."

Tierra Curry, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement Monday that "this grim assessment adds to the mountain of science showing that we're creating an extinction crisis."

"It's suicidal of us to pretend that business as usual is more important than safeguarding the natural world we all depend on," Curry declared, spotlighting some potential solutions including the Extinction Prevention Act and Recovering America's Wildlife Act.

"Grassland loss is the biggest U.S. environmental disaster that gets the least attention," she said. "Conversion of grasslands to suburban sprawl and pesticide-intensive agriculture is a primary reason we've lost 3 billion birds and why we could lose monarch butterflies and vital pollinators."

"By taking nature for granted we've pushed natural systems to the brink of collapse," Curry continued. "We've been so neglectful for so long, but we can create a different world that doesn't exploit nature and vulnerable human communities for never-ending sprawl and consumption."

2

I hardly think "bird flu" is the cause.

Dead seals test positive for bird flu in Scotland, Experts warn virus is rapidly spreading, Humans could be next

Four dead seals have tested positive for bird flu in Scotland, as the number of cases of highly pathogenic avian flu in mammals continues to grow globally with experts warning of “a step-change” in its spread.

The largest-ever bird flu outbreak had already spilled over into otters and foxes in the UK, with about 70 mammals having tested positive for the (HPAI) H5N1 virus. The seal carcasses were sent for screening last year and the results have come back positive, according to the Scottish Marine Animal Strandings Scheme (SMASS).

“Three out of the four harbor seals and one of the two grey seals from 2021 and early 2022 tested positive for HPAIV H5N1,” said SMASS in a statement. The animals were found in Aberdeenshire, Highlands, Fife, and Orkney. “We also want to check our more recent cetacean cases for evidence of spillover,” it said.

As well as ripping through wild bird populations around the world, H5N1 has been found in dolphins, domestic cats, leopards and grizzly bears. Earlier this week the Peruvian government said nearly 580 sea lions had died from it in seven protected marine areas.

Generally, it is believed mammals are getting infected by scavenging on dead or sick wild birds, but sea lions live in colonies. This has raised concerns it could now be spreading within mammal populations in the wild.

Scientists are analyzing the genetic sequences of the virus in the colonies in Peru to establish if that is the case. “We need to wait for that analysis,” said Prof Ian Brown, the director of scientific services at the Animal and Plant Health Agency (Apha). “I think we need to be cautious before we assume viruses transmitting between the sea lions.”

It follows an outbreak at a mink farm in Spain, which was the first indication it could be spreading within mammal populations. It is believed the American mink were infected by H5N1 after coming into contact with wild gulls who were able to access their food. More than 50,000 mink were euthanised.

The evidence suggests it was spreading between the mink themselves, says Ursula Höfle, a research professor at the University of Castilla. “It looks like it was at least for this particular virus an isolated event,” she said. “We don’t really know, but there’s definitely increasing evidence for bird-to-mammal and mammal-to-mammal transmission.”

If it starts being able to spread between mammals there are concerns humans could be more vulnerable. “We’re seeing a bit of a step-change in the spread of this infection, and we shouldn’t sit idle because obviously, we know what happened with Covid,” said Brown.

He said it was possible to start taking preparatory steps for making a human vaccine for H5N1 but it would be “foolhardy” to make a vaccine now as it was impossible to know what strain might jump into humans, in the unlikely event that did happen.

The WHO director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the situation “needs to be monitored closely” but the risk to humans remained low. Experts say the virus would probably require more than one or two changes for human-to-human transmission to be a real risk, but the impacts could be huge. There have been nearly 870 cases of bird flu in humans over the past 20 years and 457 were fatal, according to the WHO.

3

GEOENGINEERING WATCH GLOBAL ALERT NEWS, FEBRUARY 11, 2023, #392 ( DANE WIGINGTON )

4

No stop to wind-farm construction as whales die in record numbers

'Greenpeace is protecting machinery instead of wild whales,' says Greenpeace co-founder.

As aggressive excavation and submarine construction of over 1,500 offshore wind-farm turbines continues along the east coast of the United States, whales are likewise stranding, beaching and dying at an alarming and perplexing rate.

Almost 200 whales have been found dead since 2016, when the wind-turbine rush began, representing a fourfold annual increase over past years.

Seven dead whales have been discovered in New Jersey and New York in the past two months. In southeastern Virginia, in one recent week alone, three whales were found dead, just miles from two operational wind farms. Dying species include humpback whales and the endangered North Atlantic right whale, of which fewer than 350 are known to remain.

Citing lack of direct scientific evidence, the federal government and wind-farm advocates in the media say that there is no connection between the dramatic increases in whale deaths and the new wind farm projects they accompany. One ABC News headline declared, "Wind Farms not to Blame for East Coast Whale Deaths." NOAA Deputy Chief Benjamin Laws affirms, “There are no known connections between any offshore wind activities and any whale strandings.”

Concerned citizens and local officials say otherwise.

"The connection is clear," one coastal resident told WND. "We have never seen anything like this before, and it's happening next to the wind farm activities, but because they're wind farms, nobody cares about the whales. If you speak out for the whales, it's as if you're anti-environment."

Ironically, it may have become politically dangerous to side with the whales.

Greenpeace, perhaps the nation’s most powerful environmental advocacy group, has sided not only with the $40 billion wind-farm industry, but against detractors. John Hocevar, Greenpeace's Oceans Director, says those sounding the alarm are part of a "cynical disinformation campaign." One recent article in USA Today refers to anti-wind-farm "groups and politicians" who "appear to be using whales as pawns."

Still, a number of stalwart environmental and animal experts are calling for a moratorium on wind-farm construction and for further study. In a conversation with this writer, Patrick Moore, co-founder and former member of Greenpeace, was unequivocal:

"The development of these wind farms is interfering massively with the actual, known habitat of these creatures. The turbines are inside known migratory pathways. The effect of the high-intensity acoustic pulses is unknown and the excavations are muddying waters for what will be years on end. It is not reasonable to say there is no possibility of a causal relationship here."

Scientists are still learning about the sound-producing, hearing and echolocation capabilities of whales. Echolocation can be described as "biological SONAR," the means by which many kinds of bats, for instance, navigate and find prey.

It is widely believed that plankton-combing baleen whales or "Mysticetes" such as the North Atlantic right whale and humpback whale, do not echolocate. This writer’s father, submarine acoustics and microwave systems expert Dr. Sam Raff, participated in years of studies on the effects of undersea acoustic wave propagation on whales. The goal of this work was to attempt to determine whether naval communications and antisubmarine warfare-related transmissions could adversely affect whale communication, navigation and migration. The studies were largely inconclusive but led the United States Navy to undertake certain precautionary measures. Whales are mysterious creatures and the study of whale behavior remains exceptionally challenging.

The "precautionary principle," a philosophical approach generally touted by environmentalists, does not appear to apply in the case of wind farms, whose construction and deployment, in the words of Clean Ocean Action, is "staggering." The precautionary principle dictates extreme caution in any case in which the amount of environmental harm done by new development is not fully understood. But the latest government figures show at least 2.4 million acres and 3,400 turbines slated for construction in northeast waters. "Paving the ocean with offshore wind at the current scale, pace, and magnitude is reckless," says Clean Ocean Action, "and will have dire consequences."

Moore suggests Greenpeace, the organization he co-founded, is making a critical mistake.

"Greenpeace has betrayed the mission of its founders. They are protecting machinery instead of wild whales. When you look at the numbers, power output and actual cost effectiveness, there's a phoniness about the wind farms and a huge amount of environmental degradation. As far as the turbines ... May they rust in place."

5

2023: SOMETHING BIBLICAL IS HAPPENING WORLDWIDE!

6

What are these blue creatures washing up on Southern California beaches?

Thousands of dark blue creatures have been washing ashore at beaches across the state, littering the shores and bewildering passersby from Marin to Orange county.

The oval-shaped, flat creatures with tiny blue tentacles may look like little jellyfish but are in fact hydroids called Velella velella, more commonly known as “by-the-wind sailors.”

7

CV19 Bioweapon Vax is Not Genocide, It’s extinction – Karen Kingston

Big Pharma and government are allowing mRNA technology (the same deadly bioweapon in the CV19 injections) to be put into the entire food supply. Kingston contends this is to turn humans into trans-humans in something called “Directed Evolution.” Kingston explains, “Directed Evolution is forcing the evolution of humans to merge with DNA from reptiles, insects and artificial intelligence. It’s the bio-digital merger. This is what this is, and there are multi-trillion dollar industries around this. . . . There is a whole bio-data division in DARPA in the U.S. military. It is about merging the bio-digital with humans.”

Many have been calling the CV19 bioweapon/vax that features technology poison such as graphene as a genocide. Kingston contends it is far more than that. Kingston says, “This is not for the benefit of humanity. This is going to lead to our extinction. I just do not know why people do not understand that.” CV19 Bioweapon Vax is Not Genocide, It’s Extinction – Karen Kingston | Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog

8

MORE DEAD DOLPHINS FOUND ALONG THE BEACH IN SOUTH JERSEY

Dead marine mammals continue to be found stranded and dead along the New Jersey shoreline. Data suggests it's happening at a much faster rate than in previous years.

9

‘IT’S NOT OVER’: 12 YEARS AFTER THE FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NUCLEAR POWER PLANT DISASTER

10

dear humans

11

extinction

12

BLINDED by MONEY: Wind farms are KILLING eagles and whales, but the green cult ignores reality as it pockets millions in donations

Wind-turbine-1

Governments worldwide have been trying to convince their people to ditch fossil fuel energy, "go green" and shift to renewable energy, particularly, wind power. However, the green cult seems to be covering up how these huge wind farms are killing wildlife.

13

WE ARE LOSING ALL LIFE ON PLANET EARTH | COMMERCIAL FISHERMAN STANDING

fish
fish1200×580 155 KB

These Whales Dying, has nothing to do with Wind Farms! Whales are some of the most intelligent Creatures on the Planet! They are Dying from Eating Toxic Fish, that is being Poisoned by these Toxic Chemtrail Operations! They (Mad Scientists) are Poisoning Our Entire Planet. Source: Commercial Fisherman Standing.