Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Sheikh Qassem: Resistance is a source of power for Lebanon that must be preserved.
Sheikh Qassem: "Israel" must implement the agreement as Lebanon has already done so, and any new accord would amount to absolving it and opening the door to further attacks.
Sheikh Qassem: We do not wish to assume anyone's role; those accusing us of this must cease their accusations.
Sheikh Qassem: We will recover our lands through national solidarity; Resistance's goal is national liberation, while enemy goal is occupation.
Sheikh Qassem: Protection of sovereignty protects Lebanon. It is in real danger because of US belligerence, greedy Israeli expansion.
Qassem to Lebanese people: We are not asking for support but for us not to be stabbed in the back in the back or for some to serve Israeli interests; government is primary party responsible for [preservation of] sovereignty.
Sheikh Qassem: "Israel" can occupy, but it cannot persist in occupation of our land.
Sheikh Qassem: Intimidation will not change our stance of resistance and steadfastness. We are not advocates of surrender or defeat, and we will never accept it.
Sheikh Qassem: Where does US stand regarding enemy's unjustified assassination of a government worker and other civilian martyrs?
Sheikh Qassem: Is the Lebanese Army's defense of its land and citizens an accusation [leveled against it]? Where does US stand regarding the enemy's killing of civilians and constant destruction?

Gone are the toads: The world may be entering its sixth era of mass extinction

  • By Al Mayadeen Net
  • Source: Agencies
  • 13 Apr 2022 09:17
3 Min Read

Climate change threatens 11,475 species worldwide.

  • x
  • The golden toad.
    The golden toad... extinct!

The world may be entering its sixth era of mass extinction. 

At one point in the elfin cloud forest of Costa Rica, golden toads would leap around in abundance, a representation of the forest's well-being and prosperity. 

"The soils are very dark and so golden toads would stand out like animal figurines. It was quite a spectacle," said J Alan Pounds, an ecologist at the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve, Costa Rica. 

In 1990, the golden frog, suddenly, was gone - because the toad could only be found in the Monteverde forest, its extinction was total. Upon its realization, causes were assessed to find out that climate change is the driver behind the extinction. Climate and the biodiversity crisis are interconnected. 

Read more: Analysis says Australian government 'aggravating extinction'

 

The Intergovernmental Panel for the United Nations on Climate Change says that almost 1 in 10 of all species face an extinction threat.

Related News

Trump declares ‘Victory’ on climate change after Bill Gates’ remarks

UN chief: Humanity has failed to contain global warming below 1.5°C

Climate change, at the time when Pounds left to Costa Rica, was not a very popular concept - but, that did not chip away from any of its drastic effects on the environment.

The golden toad, the Monteverde harlequin frog, and more have suffered elimination. 

Apparently, extinctions occur during unusually warm and dry weather periods; they were also linked to the chytridiomycosis infection. However, Pounds and his colleagues contended that while the disease can be attributed to the bullet, climate change was the trigger.

"We hypothesized that climate change and resultant extreme events were somehow loading the dice for these kinds of outbreaks," Pounds told AFP.

More animals suffer: the Bramble Cay melomys, a small rodent originating from Torres Strait island, was last seen in 2009. They are the only mammals endemic to the Great Barrier Reef (whose corals are bleached due to global warming as per recent reports), and their populations were downsized by sea-level rise and more. 

Climate change threatens 11,475 species worldwide - and those are the numbers we know, provided by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Around 5,775 are at risk of extinction.

Read more: IPCC report indicates dire urgency to avoid climate disaster

Top corporations fall short in fighting climate change

Some of the world's largest corporations are failing to live up to claims that they will achieve net-zero emissions targets, reducing carbon emissions by only 40% rather than the projected 100%, according to a new analysis.

Amazon, IKEA, Nestlé, and Unilever are among the firms cited as having little substance behind their assertions that they will dramatically reduce emissions.

The report's compiler, Thomas Day of NewClimate Institute, stated that the combined efforts of the 25 companies analyzed would have little influence. "It's unclear whether these cuts go beyond business as usual," he said. "We were both dissatisfied and surprised by the amount of opportunity for improvement [among the companies surveyed]. Companies must be far more open about their objectives."

  • Climate change
  • Climate crisis
  • Paris climate agreement
  • Golden toads
  • global warming
  • Mass Extinction
STOP THE HEAT: A Climate Change Coverage

STOP THE HEAT: A Climate Change Coverage

Most Read

Arab League chief exposes secret US deal shielding 'Israel’s' nukes

Arab League chief exposes secret US deal shielding 'Israel’s' nukes

  • Politics
  • 27 Oct 2025
Hi-tech holocaust: Microsoft’s role in Gaza genocide

Microsoft's role in world’s first AI-driven genocide, in Gaza, exposed

  • Technology
  • 28 Oct 2025
Sheikh Naim Qassem speaks during an interview with Al-Manar TV, October 26, 2025 (Screenshot)

Hezbollah ready to face 'Israel' in case of war: Sheikh Naim Qassem

  • Politics
  • 27 Oct 2025
The secret cloud deal: Google and Amazon “winking” pact with 'Israel'

With a 'wink', Israeli control over Google, Amazon cloud data exposed

  • Technology
  • 29 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
ap
Politics

Hamas calls on int’l community to act against Israeli settlement plan

In this Nov. 9, 2017, file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, right, chats with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. (AP)
Economy

Ex-US diplomat says Trump-Xi deal 'tactical retreat', not lasting deal

An unarmed Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, during a test in 2002. (US Air Force)
Politics

JD Vance defends Trump's nuclear test plan as 'crucial for security'

Ultra-Orthodox Jews attend the "million man" protest against military conscription, in occupied al-Quds, October 30, 2025 (AFP)
Politics

Haredi mass rally in al-Quds exposes Zionist regime's growing crisis

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS