Facing Mass Extinction - Global Biodiversity Is Threatened

Beyond the Last Ice Age - Global Good Times for our Species

Temperatures on planet Earth have been relatively stable for the last 10,000 years or so. During this time human civilization has flourished. For ninety percent of our species time on this planet, we have lived nomadic lives, small groups moving to find food and water. Sedentary farming, the formation of permanent communities were only possible once climatic conditions permitted regular rainfall, and appropriate growing conditions for food crops and the raising of livestock. It may be difficult to grasp this point, especially when a hurricane (Irene) is threatening to sweep up the eastern seaboard of the United States and parts of East Africa are experiencing the worst period of drought for the last twenty years or so, but when we view climate trends using the geological time scale it can be concluded that we are living in the most benign and settled global climate that the Earth has experienced for the last 250,000 years. Ten thousand years ago, a cold glacial period (our planets most recent Ice Age) came to an end, between then and now our species H. sapiens has prospered almost unlike any other type of mega fauna in the long history of terrestrial life. From just a few million ten thousand years ago our population has increased over the last hundred years at an astonishing rate. By 1970, the United Nations estimated that there were as many as four billion people living on planet Earth, this year (2011) statistics that provide an estimation of human population put the figure close to seven billion. Some scientists have postulated that by 2030 the human population could reach nine billion. Perhaps Thomas Malthus had a point.

Earth's Amazing Biodiversity

A team of international scientists have been trying to calculate just how rich and diverse life on planet Earth really is. Calculating the total number of species alive today is important; without this knowledge scientists would be unable to accurately measure the decline in biodiversity as a result of climate change and other factors. Research has shown that humans as a species are having a considerable global impact. The greenhouse effect has been well documented, our influence on climate has grown dramatically ever since the Industrial Revolution and our burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas does not seem likely to diminish given the expected rate of human population growth. The destruction of habitat, the amount of waste we produce, the conversion of wild areas over to farming - all are having an impact on other organisms that share our world. Unfortunately, our true impact is difficult to measure unless scientists can calculate with a degree of accuracy how many species share the world with us at the moment.

The research team, included scientists from Dalhousie University (Nova Scotia), Microsoft Research, the Department of Geography at the University of Hawaii and the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre based in eastern England. They have published a report on their research estimating that at present there are approximately 8.7 million species on planet Earth, plus or minus 1.3 million, a margin of error for their extremely complicated calculations. The margin of error may seem quite large, however, this has to be expected as when viewed in context we simply have not studied in detail a great many of the species on our planet, or indeed explored much of the habitats where organisms live. For example, we know more about our moon than we do about the abyssal plain that covers a significant proportion of the bottom of the world's oceans.

Putting 8.7 million species (+/- 1.3 million) into Perspective

Previous estimates regarding Earth's biodiversity have varied widely. In the mid 1970s it was estimated that there were around one million species of insects on planet Earth, we know now that this seriously underestimates insect biodiversity. Other estimates for the total number of species have put the figure at around 100 million, when considered alongside this new research these figures look like a little excessive. The truth is no one is really sure, there is a background extinction rate and new species are evolving all the time. However, this new research, utilising an analysis of known aspects of Linnaean hierarchy, at least provides a starting point for our assessment on the impact of our species on the rest of life on Earth.

A point worth making is that the international team did not set out to assess all life on our planet. Their analysis only covers what is termed those organisms that fit into the domain known as Eukarya. Eukarya are organisms that have a membrane bound cell nucleus. In effect, the scientists have assessed the total number of plants, animals and fungi on our planet. The calculations do not include those organisms that first evolved, hundreds of millions of years before the first Eukaryotes - bacteria and those organisms that are classified in the domain known as the Archaea.

The Sixth Mass Extinction Event - It is All Around Us

One of the intriguing aspects of this new research, is that it used the hierarchical classification of organisms first proposed by the 18th Century Swedish physician Carolus Linnaeus to calculate the total number of species. In simple terms, the international team of scientists looked at the known members of the Linnaean Hierarchy from the Eukarya Domain right down to species level and used statistical analysis to fill in the gaps to produce their final figures. Their study reveals that some 86% of all terrestrial species and approximately 91% of all marine species await formal scientific description.

Being unsure as to how many species we share planet Earth with has a number of consequences. One of these consequences is that if we don't know what we are starting with it is very difficult to calculate current extinction rates. One of the authors of this new study, published in an online scientific journal commented that the recently updated Red List issued by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature assessed 59,508 species, of which 19,625 are classified as threatened. This means the Red List, the most sophisticated continuous analysis of extinction rates, monitors less than 1% of world species.

Palaeontologists studying the fossil record are aware that the history of life on our planet has experienced a number of "booms" and "busts", mass extinction events alongside a background level of extinctions and a gradual level of new species origination. During the entire Phanerozoic Eon, the period of visible life that extends from approximately 545 million years ago to the present there have been five major mass extinction events. The most famous of these is the Cretaceous mass extinction that occurred around sixty-five million years ago and resulted in the demise of the dinosaurs. With this new assessment of the biodiversity of Earth scientists can use this information as the basis upon which to establish current extinction events. Here is the bad news, many biologists now believe that at this time we are living through a sixth mass extinction event, with as many as three species an hour going extinct. That is 26,280 species dying out every year. What is worse the rate of species destruction seems to be increasing, certainly over the last forty years or so.

The causes for this extinction, whether human influenced or not, are not going to matter in the long-term. Those organisms at the top of the food chain, apex predators such as ourselves for example tend to be the most vulnerable. We primates had better enjoy ourselves whilst we can as we may not be around much longer.

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The Origins of the Ouija Board

Throughout history man has been obsessed with his mortality, fascinated by what lies beyond this life. The ouija board is probably the most famous tool used for communication with the dead, and it seems to have been around for centuries. In China there are records dating from 1,200 BC, claiming ouija instruments were frequently used in written communications with the dead, while 13th century Mongols were said to use a table and "rapping noises" for the same purpose. In 540 BC the Greek philosopher Pythagoras and his sect held frequent séances or circles at which 'a mystic table, moving on wheels, moved towards signs. Pythagoras and his pupil supposedly interpreted the board's actions to the audience, describing them as revelations from the unseen world. The results were compiled into an "Apocrypha" (meaning "those having been hidden away - a book of uncertain authorship.

Today's ouija board was designed in Baltimore in 1892 by Elija J Bond and William Fuld, when the boards became popular for use in "parlour games". It's a refined version of one invented in 1853 by French spiritualist Monsieur Planchette. The earlier board was a large piece of paper with a two wheeled heartshaped wedge which had a pencil attached to one end. Today's board is inscribed with numbers and letters, and the wedge is now called a "planchette".

The layout of the ouija board varies slightly from country to country. The original and most popular layout places the "yes" at the top of the circle and the "no" at the bottom. The letters are placed in a circle starting with the letter A next to the word yes and continuing around until the letter Z ends up on the other side of the word "yes". The ten numbers from one to zero are placed at the bottom next to the "no". The ouija board usually requires a minimum of two people to operate it. It is very rare that one person has the power to operate the board.

ouija boards have become an iconic part of culture, and have featured in a number of books and films. Their roles vary from being a benign object to an evil entity. A more peculiar role of talking boards in literature stems from authors using the board to channel written works from the deceased:

~ Pearl Curren held public séances, and claimed her ouija board allowed her to communicate with the spirit of Patience Worth, resulting in Curren publishing a number of poems and prose.

~ Sylvia Plath's poem "Dialogue over a Ouija Board" incorporates the text of one of the sessions she held with her husband using a ouija board.

~ Emily Hutchings claimed in 1917 she had communicated with Mark Twain, who dictated a book she wrote through the ouija board. Twain's descendents halted publication of the book through the courts, which was later said to be so badly written it could not have been written by Twain - dead or alive.

~ James Merrill used messages he claimed he obtained from various deceased people while using a ouija board in his poetry "The Changing Light at Sandover".

~ John Fuller worked with a spirit medium while researching his book "The Ghost of Flight 401", which was about a flight which crashed into the Everglades en route to Miami. They claim they contacted the flight engineer through the board, and the information obtained was not known to either him or the medium.

~ Writer GK Chesterton used a ouija board to try and break a period of skepticism and depression. His experiments with the item launched his interest in the occult.

~ Bill Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous used a ouija board to contact spirits. His wife claimed he would receive messages directly without using the board. For a while, his participation in AA was deeply affected by his involvement with the ouija board. Wilson claimed he received the twelve step method directly from a spirit without the board and wrote it down.

Although ouija boards are considered harmless toys to many people they are a force for evil, opening a door for demons and other malevolent entities to enter our world and create havoc or even destroy a person. The very thought of the potential power of a ouija board is thought to have a very negative effect upon a fragile mind. And that thought alone should be enough to warn us of their power - benign or otherwise.

The writer was born in Africa, and lived there for the first 38 years of her life. She worked in the world of public relations for over five years, running her own PR company and dealing extensively with the world of journalism and the print media. She is an author on http://www.Writing.Com/, a site for Writers. Her blog can be visited at: http://www.writing.com/authors/zwisis/blog

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When Dreams Become Nightmares - What Nightmares Are And How To Deal With Them

Nightmares, like other dreams, occur most often during REM sleep (though we dream throughout the entire sleep cycle). Unlike other dreams, however, nightmares usually cause dreamers to wake up.

If you don't wake up, is it still a nightmare? Well, not technically. You might just want to call it a bad dream.

Nightmares are most often characterized by the following symptoms:

~ a sense of dream dread or fear that may stay with you for hours or even days

~ The physical paralysis, called atonia, that signifies REM sleep (as opposed to the physical arousal common in night terrors), but perhaps with more eye movements than usual and slightly elevated pulse and respiration rates.

~ The ability to vividly recall all or part of a frightening dream story.

~ The dreamer usually finds him or herself being threatened or harmed in some way

~ A recognition of personal dream themes, or a repetition of the dream itself for months, years, or even decades.

The main feature of a nightmare is that it's scary. It's often long, intricately detailed, and among the easiest of our dreams to remember. Nightmares aren't considered a sleep disorder, as night terrors are unless they become recurring nightmares. Frequent occurrence of nightmares becomes a disorder when it impairs social, occupational and other important areas of functioning. At this point, it may be referred to as Nightmare Disorder (formerly Dream Anxiety Disorder) or "repeated nightmares." "Repeated nightmares" is defined more specifically as a series of nightmares with a recurring theme that disturb the dreamer's sleep on a regular basis. It's interesting to note that while people with night terrors exhibit frightening physical symptoms such as screaming or kicking, and are inconsolable during an episode, they don't remember anything later if they're allowed to settle back into sleep.

Nightmares, however, are a different story. The dream content of nightmares has much to reveal to us, if we're courageous enough to take a closer look at what's scaring us. Though it's hard to believe, nightmares can be very beneficial. Often they will point out what we're really afraid of, rather than what we think or what we admit (even to ourselves) we're afraid of.

Some factors that seem to contribute to nightmare frequency are: illness (especially fever), stress (caused by situations like the difficulties of adolescence, moving, hard times at school or work), troubled relationships and traumatic events, like being mugged or experiencing a serious earthquake. Traumatic events can trigger a long lasting series of recurrent nightmares.

Post-traumatic stress nightmares (PSNs) are different from your average run-of-the-mill nightmare in that they're usually experienced by people who've lived through a traumatic event, and the dream content and story will closely resemble the event. So there's very little disguised imagery. Robert Van de Castle points out that the dream is recurrent with little alteration from time to time, except that elements from the dreamer's current environment may gradually be incorporated into the prescribed dream plot.

One psychological theory holds that post-traumatic dreams are the body and mind's joint way of replaying the event in an attempt to master it within the "safe" context of the sleeping body and dreaming mind, where the event can be re-experienced without harm. Eventually the anxiety and stress associated with the traumatic event diminishes as the dreamer regains control and confidence in waking life.

It's also important to recognize that such things as a messy and vicious divorce can be experienced as trauma, especially by children. Although we may not have been prisoners of war, or survived a plane crash, there are still quite a few events in our everyday lives that qualify as traumatic.

The more standard scary dream (and what most of us consider a nightmare), usually consists of frightening images and symbols relating to work, school, or relationships, and are often stress or anxiety induced. The threat here isn't necessarily to one's life, but to one's sense of self and self-confidence. We awake from these kinds of dreams with our hearts pounding, perspiring profusely and often crying or screaming. These kinds of nightmares tend to be the ones that we're relieved to realize "was only a dream!

In my experience, the most common types of nightmares are ones of either being chased or ones of being hunted down. One explanation: Being chased or stalked as prey are primal memories from our human collective unconscious, and they refer to primitive times when our ancestors were chased by wild animals. Back then, being caught meant certain death. Another possibility is that we feel unable to escape a situation that we feel we have no control over.

I've found, time and time again, that nightmares are our unconscious mind's way of getting our attention. If we don't pay attention to our dreams, or we haven't figured out the messages in past dreams, we'll get one heck of a nightmare that forces us to pay attention, and more often than not, force us to make the effort to understand what on earth that dream (nightmare) meant.

For more information on nightmares and how to deal with them, click here.

Dream Well,

Terry Gillis

About The Author, Terry L. Gillis:

I have been researching and studying dreams for over 2 decades. What I have concluded is that dreams prepare us for what's ahead. By paying attention to our dreams and understanding their messages, we can decide on the best course of action to take to create the life we want.

To learn more about your dreams visit: The Dream Lady Online And don't forget to subscribe to our free newsletter, The Nocturnal Times.

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Understanding Recurring Dreams

Recurring dreams are collection of images and sounds that repeatedly occur in our sleep, rhetoric dreams with the same events of small variation or changes. It is not always the same, but the composition and settings remains the same. Sometimes they often include circumstances from the dreamer's accumulated knowledge or skills, and may take the form of a nightmare, but it is not always like that. A recurring nightmares stay with the dreamer for many years. Up to 70% of women experience recurring dreams, while only 65% of men experience this. Human psychology and dreams are greatly related to each other. Studies show that during an average lifespan, a human spends around two hours every night in dreaming. If we spend two hours every night in dreaming, that is six years of dreaming in an average lifespan.

Recurring dreams: a voice from within

What will you do if you want to create great emphasis on a certain matter? We tend to repeat them. The need for repetition in nightmares can signify important issue in your life. The need to understanding your rhetoric nightmares may lead you to self-realization and self improvements. Things that are unexplainable and incontestable need not to be negative aspects of our life; they can serve great advantages in our endeavor. Rhetoric nightmares may evolve very slowly, little variations at a time.

Why do we have rhetoric dreams?

Let us put it this way, your subconscious mind is showing you the right way to something. Oh please! Actually it has scientific basis, according to Sigmund Freud dreams are the means of one's expressions of his/her unconscious wishes, Dr. Freud who founded the discipline of psycho analysis said that nightmares allow the brain to take control over the emotions that are a result of undesirable experiences. Simply put, they are like nagging system that your mind uses. Nightmares are subconscious mind ways of communicating with the dreamer. Some theories claimed that dreams regarded one's inhibited feelings that are indulged in fantasies during sleep.

Rhetoric dreams can involve the following:

· Recurring dreams with the same person, need not be someone you know
· Certain place
· About your ex
· About your frustrations, let us say you want to overcome fear of flying
· Goal and ambitions

Repeated dreams tend to occur when you are...

Vulnerability to something, this may lead to recurring dreams. Once you have overcome this vulnerability; you'll reach a state of relaxation and these recurring dreams will stop, hopefully.

Do you want to know more about dreams?

I suggest you visit this site for more information about dreams

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The Mayan Calendar About 2012 Predictions and the Survival Plan

The Mayan calendar through the long count, and according to most astronomers, scientists and researchers is one of the first sources of predictions concerning the so called the end of the world in December 21, 2012. It has been also predicted by numerous prophecies as the End Date.

In this article you will discover the bare truth, the information you and your family need to know about The Mayan calendar and the end of time and the survival plans so as not to be scared, but well prepared for the after 2012.

What is the Mayan Calendar - The long Count and how is it related to 2012?

The Mayan Calendar, or as so often called the Aztec Calendar, is recorded as a carving on the Aztec "sun stone," It is more complex than the Gregorian Calendar we adopt, it's actually three calendars in one: the Religious Calendar, the Solar Calendar and the Long Count Calendar.

In fact, in relation to 2012, there are two major factors to examine: the long Count and the End of the Great Cycle. According to experts, the Long count or more importantly the end of this long count is based on:

• Eight (8) bakatuns
• Three (3) katuns
• Two (2) tuns
• Ten (10) uinals
• Fifteen (15) days

They assume that the end of this long Count will see the end of what is known as the Great Cycle. This time period coincides with December 21, 2012.

The Great Cycle, on the other hand, is based on the premise that the Mayan life cycle ends in December 2010. Some Mayan archeologists say that there are writings that refer to the descent of a Maya God Hunab Ku at that time period. In short, the end of this long Count and the End of the Great Cycle come to indicate December 21, 2012 as the end. Is it the end of the Mayan Calendar or the end of the world?

Based on factual evidences, by 2012, there will be a big change in life on earth; an Apocalyptic event that will take life as we know it to a second level.

Are we going to be prepared or scared from 2012?

The first point that comes to mind when we talk about survival, is the place to hide from the 2012 "Apocalypse".

It's believed that mountains will be the only safe places should 2012 Apocalypse occur. With all the possibilities it's impossible to say where for sure, but it's believed that mountainous areas and the highlands will have the best chances. Highlands would be safe if it were not for the nuclear fallout which would likely occur.

For more details about what will really happen in 2012 in depth and really learn how to plan ahead for your survival and the safeguard of your family, I highly recommend you visit 2012 the end

Tacuzen is an internet marketing, webmaster and SEO guru

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The Four Categories Of Astral Projection Stories

You will probably find countless stories of various astral projection and out-of-body experiences. Well at least you should people have been astral traveling whether on purpose or not for 5000 years since the ancient Egyptians. Every story you find will of course be different but I am here to tell you that every astral travel occurrence can be put into one of 4 groups.

I. The first kind of astral projection and one of the rarer types is when the astral projector successfully attempts to leave his physical body but when they do so they decide they want to keep the conscious inside of their physical body. So they only partially leave their physical body and have their astral watcher simply record what they see and give it back to the one who created it.

II. Probably the simplest report of OBE and often the most appealing to people who want to learn how to depart their body is reports of people who have astral projected on purpose and who put their conscious into their astral body.

III. The rarest reports of OBE (out-of-body experience) is when someone astral projects on accident but their consciousness was not inside the astral body. The reason why these are so rare is because people don't realize that they had accidentally had a OBE.

The astral body will wander aimlessly both on the material plane and in the astral planes and supply the person with random bits and pieces of information. The pieces will be difficult to put together and wont make much sense.

The most common time when someone experiences this form of OBE is when sleeping. At which point when they wake up they will feel tired. Feelings of Déjà vu are most commonly felt in places where your unguided astral body went to.

IV. The most common astral projection story to be found on the internet by far is the stories of people who accidentally left their body and had their consciousness in the astral body.

This simply means the person's consciousness, instead of remaining with the mundane shell or physical body, also travels with the astral body.

This form of OBE is most commonly experienced when one is under extreme trauma. Examples would be when people have near death experiences.

Another common time for people to astral project accidentally is while under surgery. So if you are having a surgery and then find yourself floating from you body. Don't worry your not dead you are just astral projecting.

Joseph Jeleen is an astral travel expert. For more great information on astral projection stories, visit http://astralprojectionguide.org/.

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Astral Projection Stories That Are Out Of This World

One of the best places you can start when investigating astral travel is to check out astral projection stories. Before wanting to spring out there and begin your first voyage, it's a good idea to see what people are experiencing. As you can imagine, people can have a varying array of experiences. Nevertheless, when the universe of astral projection stories are viewed as a whole, there are indeed some common places of overlap. In fact, there are five typical themes that play out often.

The first trend you'll detect across all astral projection stories is the way people report the basic out-of-body experience, by which they see themselves from another point of view. People talk about levitating above themselves. It's as though people are seeing themselves through the eyes of another. It's best to just hear some astral projection stories.

In fact, one piano player talked about how he saw himself looking down while he was playing piano at church, so he was able to enjoy himself as a spectator! What's really wild is that he repots how he was not able to even know what he was going to do next, so it really was as though he was someone else. Still another person explains how they realized 26 years later that they had experienced astral travel when they were 6 years old going through surgery. He comprehends that he was awake during the surgery watching the whole operation.

Second, when assessing astral projection stories, the seemingly most common experience is the report that people are flying. People have a feeling of weightlessness. The "anti-gravity" experience, also described as levitating, is reported by most as pleasurable. One of the astral projection stories most interesting was the man who said he felt like he was a vapor, and he talked about floating around watching himself sleep.

A third common thread in astral projection stories is when people report being able to visit with family and friends that have since passed on. Obviously, many people want to be able to see people they cared about again. And sometimes this is actually a motivation for pursuing astral travel. Interestingly, keep in mind that since it is your astral self reuniting with them, it is actually their astral body as well. I'm not sure that that makes a lot of difference, but it's a revelation worth bearing in mind and people tend to react to that reality in different ways.

The fourth commonality is astral projection stories is how people talk about being able to physically do things they previously could not. A typical example has to do with people simply walking through doors. People talk about going straight through walls. Related to this is the way that sick people become well. In other words, blind people talk about being able to see. Crippled people talk about being able to walk.

The last common thread among the astral projection stories is how people recount visiting places they've never been before, or even seen. This isn't so much about going somewhere, like the Ukraine, that you've never been on vacation to. Rather, while that could be the case, it's also sometimes simply some place that you do not even recognize. And, you might even have some vague feeling that you've been there before. It's not so much that they have been there before in the natural, but maybe in previous astral travel.

Want more useful astral projection stories?
Josiah Everton is an Astral Travel enthusiast and projections aficionado. Visit his astral projections website at http://www.astralprojectionsdepot.com
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