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A new movement urges architecture firms to donate their time to design spaces for those in need.
Next Green Thing: Surviving Global Warming
By Virginia Prescott on Tuesday, June 24, 2008.
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Hundreds of millions of years ago, changes in the Earth’s climate triggered the extinction of an estimated 80 to 90 percent of the Earth’s species. That’s right, scientists think only one out of 10 species survived a major blast of greenhouse gas about 250 million years ago.
Last year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted "with medium confidence... that 20-30% of the world’s species would be at risk of extinction if current climate patterns continue." Scientists grappling with those numbers are looking to the pre-historic past for clues on how global warming might affect life on Earth today, and tomorrow.
Carl Zimmer writes about science for The New York Times and a number of other publications, and he's the author of six books, most recently "Microcosm: E. coli and the New Science of Life." For another installation in Word of Mouth's "Next Green Thing" series, Zimmer joins us to talk about biodiversity in the balance, which he recently reported on for Yale Environment 360.
(Photo by ArtWerk)
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Word of Mouth is all about what's new. Online and on-air, the show looks at our fascinating and ever-changing world, and puts the latest ideas under a microscope. Word of Mouth investigates everything from science and technology, to health and the environment, to new trends in popular culture. The show airs Monday through Thursday at noon and is hosted by Virginia Prescott.
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Wow, if only Al Gore were alive back then. He could have saved those species....I love "medium confidence", though. Gotta love those "scientists".