Ep. 79 - The Future of Extinction

Earth's 6th Mass Extinction ☠️ In this episode, Mattimore sits down with Michael Kipp, Postdoctoral Scholar in Geochemistry at Cal Tech, to discuss the five major mass extinction events in earth’s history, the current sixth extinction that is taking place right now, and possible future scenarios for animal extinction and human extinction in the years to come… Key Questions: How do scientists differentiate between “mass extinction events” and “background levels of extinction?" What caused the 5 previous mass extinction events in earth’s history? How was biodiversity able to rebound after previous mass extinctions? How is the 6th extinction different from previous mass extinction events? How bad is the current sixth extinction by comparison? Which species are most and least vulnerable to extinction? What causes extinction on land versus in the oceans? What are some possible remedies to the current sixth extinction? Should scientists bring back wooly mammoths and other extinct species? What are some “natural” ways that humanity could go extinct? What are some “man-made” ways humanity could go extinct? How might we safeguard against human extinction? Future Scenarios: Worst Case Scenario Best Case Scenario Most Likely Scenario Thanks for tuning in 🔭 Website: hencethefuture.com/ Instagram: instagram.com/hencethefuture/ Twitter: twitter.com/hencethefuture YouTube: youtube.com/c/HenceTheFuturePodcast #HTF #HenceTheFuture