Great Barrier Reef Threatened By Climate Change

In a story published on Dec. 1, 2016 in the New York Times, Staff Writer Michelle Innis from Sydney, Australia, it is being reported that the flow of coastal sediment, along with farm chemicals, are endangering one of Australia's most renowned sites, The Great Barrier Reef, which is the world's largest coral reef system.

The Australian government studied the reef recently and stated the reef has not yet been put on any "in danger" list. However, there is significant peril to the reef nonetheless.

Scientists from the ARC Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies have found that the reef is undergoing record coral bleaching and  die-off, with vast sections of the northern reef being dead.

The Australian government has identified more than 150 corrective actions that could, if all goes well, abate the problems with the reef.

Hawking: Humanity Only Has About 1,000 Years Left

Dr. Stephen Hawking

By JIM PURCELL

In a story by staffer Lindsay Dodgson filed today in Business Insider, it was reported that, according to renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, humanity only has about 1,000 years left before it becomes extinct.

Hawking made his disturbing prediction at a talk he was giving at the Oxford Union Debating Society.

Hawking, 74, said that extreme risks in the world, such as nuclear weapons, global climate change and mankind developing artificial intelligence and losing control of it are all likely causes for future destruction of the human race.

Hawking urges that humanity must leap beyond the "fragile" confines of earth and move out into other worlds, where pockets of humanity would survive even if there is a fatal cataclysm on our home planet.

In fact, the Kepler spacecraft was launched in 2009, with the mission of finding other worlds that may be habitable for mankind. Notably, this year, astronomers discovered a world they called Proxima B. The planet is roughly earth-sized and orbits the star Proxima Centauri's Goldilocks zone. It also lies about 4.2 light years away from earth.