NEW YORK, NY – One Australian academic’s research brings some startling information to light!

Mass extinction is usually a term that strikes fears – or at least sends shivers down the spines of people. Society today has become so involved in material good and technology, that sometimes the big picture is lost. We share this earth with countless numbers of species, all of who play a delicate role in keep the earth the way it is. Could we be on the verge of a mass extinction? Is the reset button about to be hit?

According to palaeobiologist Dr. John Alroy, we’re in the middle of a mass extinction event comparable to that which killed off the dinosaurs. Alroy, of Macquarie University, says it’s caused by a range of human behaviors and activities, along with climate change.

In addition, the Aussie predicts major changes to the rules of evolution as we currently know them, which could have devastating consequences for future biodiversity.

Alroy studied data from nearly 100,000 fossil collections worldwide, tracking the fate of major groups of marine animals throughout the fossil record, and especially during the Earth’s most massive extinction event, 250 million years ago. He concluded that while we’ve assumed the rules governing diversity of these major groups to be invariant, they have actually changed over geological time.

As a result, he says, the major extinction event currently underway will be much more severe than most – indeed, he says, there have been only three mass extinctions on the level of the current one in the last half billion years.

“The main implication is that we’re really rolling the dice,” said Alroy. “We don’t know which groups will suffer the most, which groups will rebound the most quickly, or which ones will end up with higher or lower long-term equilibrium diversity levels.”

“What’s worrisome is that some groups permanently become dominant that otherwise wouldn’t have,” he added. “So by causing this extinction, we are taking a big gamble on what kind of species will be around in the future. We don’t know how it will turn out. People don’t realize that there will be very unpredictable consequences.”

MARTINSVILLE, IL. – Bigfoot must be placed on Endangered Species List, and activists lay blame on Sarah Palin!

Wildlife photographer Brett Sullivan is attempting to protect the elusive beast from hardhearted humans – by persuading Congress to declare Bigfoot an endangered species.

“There are a lot of nuts out there who would shoot Bigfoot in a minute, just to show they could,” said the 66-year-old Martinsville nature lover and newspaperman.  “And Governor Palin has only encouraged them!”

This is in reference to the now infamous aerial shooting of a Bigfoot by Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin. The GOP celebrated it as just another example of her gumption, but both wildlife and mutant activists felt it was an irresponsible act.

Sullivan explained, “We now need to convince not only the government but all American citizens to give these creatures the same kind of protection we give other species on the verge of extinction.

“When Governor Palin is taking down Bigfoots left and right, wearing a designer baby bjorn and posing with the bodies for photo ops, it completely glorifies the horrific event. In my opinion, she is the leader in their ultimate demise and must be stopped!”

Officials in several Northwestern states have already enacted laws making it illegal to harm these gentle giants. But Sullivan says adopting legislation state by state is too slow, so he’s asking Congress to place Bigfoot on the nation’s Endangered Species List, alongside the spotted owl, the Florida panther and the Coho salmon.

“When you look into the eyes of one of these creatures and see how bright they are, and then look into Sarah Palin’s eyes, well… Frankly, there’s no competition,” he said. “I think I know which creature is more important for the future of this country, and it does not wear rimless glasses.”