Study raises concern for the Earth's 6th mass extinction.
In a new study published in the journal Nature, several scientists from the University of California, Berkeley, USA; the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil and the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center in North Carolina, USA evaluated animals currently listed as "critically endangered," "endangered" and "threatened" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

They compared current endangered species' conditions with five previous extinction periods over the past 540 million years, when at least 75% of all animal species disappeared.

Their conclusions included the observation that while the Earth has currently lost a relatively small percentage of species, the rate at which they are disappearing now, which some scientists have said is 1,000 times faster than the normal pace of evolution, could set off a sixth mass extinction in as little as three centuries.

At the same time, co-author Professor Anthony Barnosky of the University of California, Berkeley said that it is not too late if we act now to resolve habitat loss, disease, global warming and other largely human-caused issues.

He stated, "It's very important to devote resources and legislation toward species conservation if we don't want to be the species whose activity caused a mass extinction.”

Thank you Professor Barnosky and other international colleagues for your extensive work in showing our potential for an irreversible tragedy perishing that would ultimately affect our own survival. May we act swiftly to preserve the lives of all beings on the planet.

Speaking in a November 2010 video message presented during a climate change conference in the United Kingdom, Supreme Master Ching Hai addressed the root cause of such losses and what can be done to stop them.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/8357130/Has-the-Earths-sixth-mass-extinction-already-started.html http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2011/03/02/Scientists-raise-mass-extinction-concerns
/UPI-89571299116157/#ixzz1FdCJO0Ce
http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Wildlife/2011/0303/Eastern-cougar-declared-extinct-by-US-governmenthttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/03/sixth-mass-extinction_n_830947.html http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474979114207
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/Earths-6th-mass-extinction-has-already-begun/articleshow/7624629.cms
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2011-03-02-next-mass-extinction_N.htm

Extra News
In an effort to mitigate global warming, China's Premier Wen Jiabao pledges to reduce the energy consumption of activities linked to the nation's overall productivity by 17% in the next five years.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-02/27/c_13751993.htm
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=13016328
http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/sdissues/consumption/cpp1224m2.htm

In Bangladesh, environmentalists call on the government to implement immediate measures to stop hill cutting of trees, both to decrease the likelihood of landslides as well as to save the environment and biodiversity.
http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=176623 ,
http://www.bangladeshnews.net/story.php?rid=43542983

As reported in the UK online news source, “The Observer,” water scarcity due to climate change is creating growing concerns, with water poverty developing in the UK and rising food prices due to water shortages leading to protests and even conflict in other parts of the world.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/feb/20/arab-nations-water-running-out,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/feb/20/water-poverty-uk-scarcity-bills