Scientists want to bring 22 animals back from extinction

[santeesioux]

It would be pretty bad ass to see some Woolly Mammoths and Tasmanian Tigers walking around.

http://www.thejournal.ie/science-conference-de-extinction-840062-Mar2013/

 

[Sinobas]

That would be awesome!

 

[magnifier661]

That would be awesome and I don't think it's impossible. I don't think it's playing God either, since we didn't create an entirely new species. We are just reincarnating the species that already existed. It could be argued that we are playing "Darwin".

 

[julius]

That would be really cool, as long as these new animals don't reek havoc.

 

[magnifier661]

That would be really cool, as long as these new animals don't reek havoc.

I was thinking about the mammoth. I could only imagine the amount of foliage they would need to consume and still live in the colder environments of North America.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

As cool as it all sounds, there's a reason they're extinct. They should stay so.

 

[Sedatedfork]

Jurassic Park!

 

[magnifier661]

As cool as it all sounds, there's a reason they're extinct. They should stay so.

Some have been extinct because man made them extinct.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Some have been extinct because man made them extinct.

So?

 

[magnifier661]

So?

Well I'm just saying they didn't naturally become extinct; so man took them away and can bring them back. There is nothing wrong for man to try and fix the things they ruined.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Well I'm just saying they didn't naturally become extinct; so man took them away and can bring them back. There is nothing wrong for man to try and fix the things they ruined.

That depends.

For example, let us say there is a species of fish in some small lake in Alabama that becomes extinct due to a dam being placed. So they look around and find a similar lake in Idaho. But the reintroduction of that fish there causes an ecological problem and via crossbreeding and/or things other things become extinct or otherwise greatly alter the ecological balance. That has been known to happen.

 

[MARIS61]

Their tax-subsidized research money would be better spent trying to prevent the extinction of the species we still have left.

According to the UN Environment Programme, the Earth is in the midst of a mass extinction of life. Scientists estimate that 150-200 species of plant, insect, bird and mammal become extinct every 24 hours. This is nearly 1,000 times the "natural" or "background" rate and, say many biologists, is greater than anything the world has experienced since the vanishing of the dinosaurs nearly 65m years ago. Around 15% of mammal species and 11% of bird species are classified as threatened with extinction.

Djoghlaf warned Britain and other countries not to cut nature protection in the recession. In a reference to expected 40% cuts to Britain's department of the environment spending, he said: "It would be very short-sighted to cut biodiversity spending. You may well save a few pounds now but you will lose billions later. Biodiversity is your natural asset. The more you lose it, the more you lose your cultural assets too."

He urged governments to invest in nature. "If you do not, you will pay very heavily later. You will be out of business if you miss the green train."

Mounting losses of ecosystems, species and genetic biodiversity is now threatening all life, said Djoghlaf. In immediate danger, he said, were the 300 million people who depended on forests and the more than 1 billion who lived off sea fishing.

"Cut your forests down, or over-fish, and these people will not survive. Destroying biodiversity only increases economic insecurity. The more you lose it, the more you lose the chance to grow.

"The loss of biodiversity compounds poverty. Destroy your nature and you increase poverty and insecurity. Biodiversity is fundamental to social life, education and aesthetics. It's a human right to live in a healthy environment."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/aug/16/nature-economic-security

 

[jlprk]

Republicans roving with mammoths on the tundra would add to diversity, but I just don't think that science can bring them back.