We don't need rowdy Extinction Reb-hellions on our streets — we need Education on Extinctions in our science academies, classrooms, and media. Extinctions are natural events that close every chapter of Earth's history — they remove species that can't cope with competition or change. The rocks are Earth's archives, recording past climates, extinctions, ice ages, droughts, planetary impacts, and volcanic activities.  There is nothing unusual about current conditions or trends except for today's huge human population.  (Dinosaurs also were very numerous and successful, but only remnants of their line remain today.) There are at least 17 major extinctions recorded in Earth's archives.  They are revealed by discontinuities in surface outcrops, and in drill logs and core samples taken from deep drilling, sea sediment sampling, lake strata, tree rings, stalactite rings, and ice cores. There is zero...(Read Full Post)