Extinction

[. . .]

"At the end of my career, I get to document the destruction of the species I've been documenting for 20 years," he lamented.

Such sentiments have become increasingly common in recent years among a growing number of marine biologists, who find themselves studying species in danger of disappearing. For years, many scientists and regulators believed the oceans were so vast there was little risk of marine species dying out. Now, some suspect the world is on the cusp of what Ellen Pikitch, executive director of the Pew Institute for Ocean Science, calls "a gathering wave of ocean extinctions."

Dozens of biologists believe the seas have reached a tipping point, with scores of species of ocean - dwelling fish, birds and mammals edging toward extinction. In the past 300 years, researchers have documented the global extinction of just 21 marine species - but 16 have occurred since 1972. [my emphasis]

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Our planet is dying and only the powers that be in Washington refuse to acknowlege it. Read the whole post at the 12th Harmonic.