The mystery of the missing extinctions

The mystery of the missing extinctions

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The Emerald Forest

After the Irish fought for and won their independence from the British in 1921, they had a problem. Centuries of exploitation had left the island one of the least forested nations in Europe, with less than 2% tree cover. So, they started planting a non-native American tree: fast- ...  Show more

Safe to Drink, Episode 1: You don’t know about this?

A New Hampshire town finds out its water has been contaminated by a chemical. The most basic question — whether the water is safe to drink — doesn’t have a clear answer. Nobody seems to know much about this so-called forever chemical, which is weird… because all of this has all h ...  Show more

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Que faut-il faire pour éviter une sixième extinction ?
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Des changements climatiques notables, des phénomènes volcaniques ou encore les conséquences liées à des impacts de météorites, ont déjà provoqué des extinctions massives sur Terre, la plus importante ayant entraîné la disparition d'environ 70 % des espèces terrestres.

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David Sepkoski, "Catastrophic Thinking: Extinction and the Value of Diversity from Darwin to the Anthropocene" (U Chicago Press, 2020)
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We live in an age in which we are repeatedly reminded—by scientists, by the media, by popular culture—of the looming threat of mass extinction. We’re told that human activity is currently producing a sixth mass extinction, perhaps of even greater magnitude than the five previous ...  Show more

Gerta Keller, "The Last Extinction: The Real Science Behind the Death of the Dinosaurs" (Diversion Books, 2025)
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The story behind Dr. Gerta Keller’s world-shattering scientific discovery that dinosaur extinction was NOT caused by asteroid impact, but rather by volcanic eruptions on the Indian peninsula, a discovery that highlights today’s existential threat of greenhouse gasses and climate ...  Show more

The New Conservationists: Thanks to Conservation Efforts, Pandas, Wolves and Panthers Are Making a Comeback (Part 4)
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Tens of thousands of animal species are facing extinction, mostly because of human activity. But thanks to conservationists, there are some animals that are making a comeback. This is part four of “The New Conservationists,” a four-part series about the evolving world of animal c ...  Show more