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The 'Great Dying' Nearly Erased Life On Earth. Scientists See Similarities To Today
There was a time when life on Earth almost blinked out. The "Great Dying," the biggest extinction the planet has ever seen, happened some 250 million years ago and was largely caused by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Now scientists are beginning to see alarming similarities between the Great Dying and what's currently happening to our atmosphere.
It's explained in the exhibit's section on the Great Dying. About 250 million years ago or so, an enormous volcanic field erupted in what is now Siberia. It spewed lava that burned though limestone and coal beds and filled the atmosphere with carbon dioxide and pollution, possibly for millions of years. That in turn warmed the planet, made the oceans acidic and robbed them of oxygen. More than 90% of species in the oceans died out as did two-thirds of those on land.
There have been other mass extinctions, like the one that wiped out the dinosaurs about 65 million years ago, but this one, at the end of the Permian Period, was mostly caused by too much carbon dioxide rising into the atmosphere. And the Smithsonian notes often in its exhibit that the current warming of the planet is déjà vu all over again.
"We can learn from studying the past," Wing says. "They're also the processes that are being observed by Earth scientists today."
It's explained in the exhibit's section on the Great Dying. About 250 million years ago or so, an enormous volcanic field erupted in what is now Siberia. It spewed lava that burned though limestone and coal beds and filled the atmosphere with carbon dioxide and pollution, possibly for millions of years. That in turn warmed the planet, made the oceans acidic and robbed them of oxygen. More than 90% of species in the oceans died out as did two-thirds of those on land.
There have been other mass extinctions, like the one that wiped out the dinosaurs about 65 million years ago, but this one, at the end of the Permian Period, was mostly caused by too much carbon dioxide rising into the atmosphere. And the Smithsonian notes often in its exhibit that the current warming of the planet is déjà vu all over again.
"We can learn from studying the past," Wing says. "They're also the processes that are being observed by Earth scientists today."
https://www.npr.org/2019/06/04/729341362/the-great-dying-nearly-erased-life-on-earth-scientists-see-similarities-to-today?utm_term=nprnews&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&fbclid=IwAR1_aEIGm5sPotrnLaTnALp404IDdNwbiQoAAxAJ667ROkl96n_gAOB63xQ
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Trump Tells Prince Charles: Don’t Blame the U.S. for Climate Crisis, DailyBeast, 6/5/19
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142325119
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-tells-prince-charles-dont-blame-the-us-for-climate-crisis
Trump has revealed that [Prince] Charles, Britain’s next king, spent an hour and a half trying to convince him that climate change was an existential threat to the world. But the president’s only reply appeared to be that, even if climate change is real, then it isn’t America’s fault.
“I did say, ‘Well, the United States right now has among the cleanest climates there are based on all statistics,’” he told Morgan. “And it’s even getting better because I agree with that we want the best water, the cleanest water. It’s crystal clean, has to be crystal-clean clear.”
He added: “China, India, Russia, many other nations, they have not very good air, not very good water and the sense of pollution. If you go to certain cities… you can’t even breathe, and now that air is going up.”
Asked flatly by Morgan if he believed in climate change, Trump waffled on: “I believe there’s a change in weather, and I think it changes both ways. Don’t forget, it used to be called global warming. That wasn’t working. Then it was called climate change. Now it’s actually called extreme weather, because with extreme weather you can’t miss.”
“I did say, ‘Well, the United States right now has among the cleanest climates there are based on all statistics,’” he told Morgan. “And it’s even getting better because I agree with that we want the best water, the cleanest water. It’s crystal clean, has to be crystal-clean clear.”
He added: “China, India, Russia, many other nations, they have not very good air, not very good water and the sense of pollution. If you go to certain cities… you can’t even breathe, and now that air is going up.”
Asked flatly by Morgan if he believed in climate change, Trump waffled on: “I believe there’s a change in weather, and I think it changes both ways. Don’t forget, it used to be called global warming. That wasn’t working. Then it was called climate change. Now it’s actually called extreme weather, because with extreme weather you can’t miss.”
Now you know
Sad that Prince Charles spent an hour and a half explaining it all to him, and he's still got an understanding of it that would probably sound idiotic even to Archie Bunker.
