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Construction needs cloud flexibility
Australia’s embattled construction sector could benefit from cloud based information systems that can be switched on and off in lockstep with individual projects – with the exception of those organisations based in remote areas like the Kimberleys.
read moreIs Earth on verge of a mass extinction?
William Atkins
Friday, 04 March 2011 00:04
According to a study in the journal Nature, American researchers contend that conservation measures need to be stepped up in order to reduce today's higher than normal extinction rates; and, to prepare for a mass extinction, possibly already under way.
Published online on March 2, 2011, in the journal Nature, it states, 'Palaeontologists characterize mass extinctions as times when the Earth loses more than three-quarters of its species in a geologically short interval, as has happened only five times in the past 540'‰ million years or so.'
The most recent mass extinction occurred during the Cretaceous-Tertiary period, which occurred approximately 65.5 million years ago -- in what is generally called the K-T Extinction Event.
Although the authors state five mass extinctions occurred over the past 540 million years or so, general consensus states that up to 20 mass extinctions could have happened (with some smaller mass extinctions being defined as 50% of all species going extinct).
The five mass extinctions, mentioned by the authors, are the largest ones in our history. In any case, mass extinctions have occurred from time to time in Earth's history, and they should be of concern to us in the future.
The authors, from the University of California at Berkeley, continue with, 'Biologists now suggest that a sixth mass extinction may be under way, given the known species losses over the past few centuries and millennia.'
These researchers looked at fossil records from far in the past and current data on species in order to better understand extinction scenarios.
They conclude within the abstract to their paper, 'Our results confirm that current extinction rates are higher than would be expected from the fossil record, highlighting the need for effective conservation measures.'
Page two concludes.
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