Tag Archives: climate change

A Modest Proposal: Let’s Change Earth’s Orbit – Scientific American

During a congressional hearing last week, Republican Representative Louie Gohmert of Texas asked a U.S. Forest Service official if her organization or the Bureau of Land Management could change the orbit of the moon or Earth to reverse the effects of human-caused climate change. That seems like a perfectly reasonable idea, doesn’t it? Let’s doContinue reading “A Modest Proposal: Let’s Change Earth’s Orbit – Scientific American”

Accelerated modern human–induced species losses: Entering the sixth mass extinction

Abstract The oft-repeated claim that Earth’s biota is entering a sixth “mass extinction” depends on clearly demonstrating that current extinction rates are far above the “background” rates prevailing between the five previous mass extinctions. Earlier estimates of extinction rates have been criticized for using assumptions that might overestimate the severity of the extinction crisis. WeContinue reading “Accelerated modern human–induced species losses: Entering the sixth mass extinction”