Can lessons from the dinosaurs save us from another mass extinction? | Kenneth Lacovara | TEDxBoston скачать в хорошем качестве

Can lessons from the dinosaurs save us from another mass extinction? | Kenneth Lacovara | TEDxBoston

In the next mass extinction event, humans could be the astroid AND the dinosaurs. We're in the midst of compounding natural crises--rapid biodiversity loss and climate change brought on by human activity. The dramatic speed of this decline is no more evident than to those that study on deep time scales. Through the fossil records, paleontologists and geologists can observe histories of life dating back billions of years to our shared microbial ancestors. The record shows 5 mass extinction events, each wiping out 75-90% of species of the time, and each caused by significant climate change. The most recent is the asteroid that brought about an ice age and snuffed out the dinosaurs. In the eons of evolution since life emerged, humans are a blink of an eye in geological time. Just a fraction of fraction of a percent. In our infinitesimally short reign, we've changed the Earth so dramatically we are bringing about a 6th mass extinction event. It may take dramatic action to undo our undoing. Kenneth Lacovara is an American paleontologist and geologist at Rowan University and fellow of the Explorers Club, known for the discovery of the titanosaurian dinosaur Dreadnoughtus and his involvement in the discovery and naming of the giant sauropod dinosaur Paralititan, as well as his work applying 3D printing technology to paleontology. Lacovara is the founder of the Edelman Fossil Park & Museum of Rowan University and the author of the general-audience book, Why Dinosaurs Matter (2017), for which he received a Nautilus Book Award. Additionally, he serves as Paleontology Fellow of the Academy of Natural Sciences. He is a recipient of the Explorers Club Medal, the highest honor bestowed by The Explorers Club. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx