About 250 million year ago, during the late Permian the world’s oceans stagnated causing a huge and lethal build up of hydrogen sulphide produced by anaerobic bacteria. Up to 95 percent of marine species and 85 percent of those on the land went … [Read more...] about Mass Extinctions from Mass Poisonings?
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Norwegian Whaling Quota Unchanged for 2008: A Note from Ann Novek
Mainstream media , Reuters and Norwegian paper Aftenposten, have reported the Norwegian whaling quota this season will be the same as for the previous 3 years, 1052 minke whales. “ We set quotas not according to what is likely to be caught , but … [Read more...] about Norwegian Whaling Quota Unchanged for 2008: A Note from Ann Novek
Science and Public Policy by Aynsley Kellow: Part 2, Virtual Extinctions in Virtual Ecosystems
How many plant and animal species go extinct each year? Some years ago Greenpeace claimed 50,000 -100,000 species each year. In the comment thread of an earlier blog post Lamna nasus suggested a figure of 90 species of mammal over the past five … [Read more...] about Science and Public Policy by Aynsley Kellow: Part 2, Virtual Extinctions in Virtual Ecosystems
Why I am a Dynamist
In 1960 famous Austrian economist and political philosopher Friedrich Hayek wrote an essay entitled ‘Why I Am Not a Conservative’ explaining that a fundamental trait of the conservative attitude is a fear of change while the liberal position is based … [Read more...] about Why I am a Dynamist
New Analysis of the 2002 Larsen B Ice Shelf Collapse
A new paper has been published which examines the factors involved in the 2002 collapse of the Larsen B ice shelf in Antarctica. The lead author, Professor Neil Glasser of Aberystwyth University (Wales, UK) was interviewed about the findings in the … [Read more...] about New Analysis of the 2002 Larsen B Ice Shelf Collapse
Evidence for Abiogenic Oil from a New Paper Published in the Journal ‘Science’
Some readers of this blog may recall that Louis Hissink sometimes brings up the subject of at least some oil being 'abiogenic' or 'abiotic' rather than fossil in origin. Most of us remain sceptical of such claims, which seem to be backed by anecdotal … [Read more...] about Evidence for Abiogenic Oil from a New Paper Published in the Journal ‘Science’