Prince Charles Warns Of 'Sixth Extinction Event'

Mankind faces extinction, the Prince of Wales has warned, unless humans transform our lifestyles to stop mass consumption, run away climate change and destruction of wildlife.












The Prince said if the world carries on 'business as usual' then the human race itself could be wiped out.

In his first speech as the new President of the Worldwide Wildlife Fund (WWF) UK, Prince Charles suggested 'surviving ourselves' should be a priority.

Referring to himself as “an endangered species”, he warned that the world is already in the “sixth extinction event”, with species dying out at a much faster rate than at any time since the death of most of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

Despite campaigning for years on global warming, he said climate change was not the only problem but merely speeding up the “rapacious” destruction of natural resources like water, land and food that humans need to survive.

The Prince said if the world carries on “business as usual” then the human race itself could be in danger.

“We are, of course, witnessing what some people call the sixth great extinction event – the continued erosion of much of the Earth’s vital biodiversity caused by a whole host of pressures, from the rising demand for land to the corrosive effects of all kinds of pollution," he said.

“This is an important point that needs to be stressed more than it is, because its ultimate impact is plainly not at all clear to most people – without the biodiversity that is so threatened, we won't be able to survive ourselves.”

Alluding to his “spiritual connection to nature”, the Prince said mankind must also protect other species from extinction.

“It may not seem to make much difference economically if the swallows, swifts and house martins no longer turn up each spring, but what would life be like if we just accepted their extinction because their habitats have been destroyed?”

The Prince follows in the footsteps of his father the Duke of Edinburgh who was President of the UK arm of WWF UK before taking on the top role of the international organisation.

The Royal joked that as a “rare species” himself, he has always felt a close connection to the work of WWF.

“Perhaps I warmed to your work from such an early age because, from the outset, you stood up for endangered species!”

The WWF was set up 50 years ago to protect endangered species like the panda but Prince Charles said that the challenge today is far greater.

He said the only way to protect wildlife and ultimately the humans who rely on these ‘ecosystem services’ is to transform the world economy so that growth is not at the expense of nature.

He referred to a “sustainability revolution” that would force people to change their lifestyles so they consume less petrol, food and other resources.

“History will not judge us by how much economic growth we achieve in the immediate years ahead, nor by how much we expand material consumption, but by the legacy for our grandchildren and their grandchildren,” he said. “We are consuming what is rightfully theirs by sacrificing long-term progress on the altar of immediate satisfaction. That is hardly responsible behaviour. There is an urgent need for all of us to concentrate our efforts on sustaining, nurturing and protecting the Earth’s natural capital and, moreover, reshaping our economic system so that Nature sits at the very heart of our thinking.”

In a speech at St James's Palace to environmentalists, staff the Prince warned that the WWF “may regret” taking him on.

He has faced criticism for his views on the environment and voiced frustration at the failure of governments to address the issue, but he insisted that by working together humanity will “perform remarkable feats of innovation to secure a stable environment”.

“As many of you will know, I have been harping on about these challenges for many years and although this leads to inevitable criticism from some quarters, I must tell you that I put up with it because the issues we face are so important. None of us must be afraid to be stand up and be counted.”

U.N. Scientific Report Slams Shell for Nigeria Oil Pollution

It clings to the vegetation, coats the waterways and in some parts just gushes brazenly into the swamp.



This is the legacy of more than 50 years of oil drilling in Nigeria.

A U.N. report released on Thursday is placing the blame for this ecological disaster on Royal Dutch Shell and the Nigerian government.

The report calls for the world's largest ever oil clean-up operation, with an initial price tag of one billion dollars.

Audrey Gaughran of Amnesty International says the report is welcome news and that the scientific findings confirm what many locals have suspected for a long time.

[Audrey Gaughran, Global Thematic Programme, Amnesty International]:

''So this exposure of Shell's failure to clean up is extremely serious, because Shell's often maintained that it operates to best international standards; that is totally debunked by this report.''

Another finding of the report is that area's groundwater and not just its lakes and streams are completely polluted.

[Audrey Gaughran, Global Thematic Programme, Amnesty International]

"The human impact is that people are drinking polluted water, growing crops on polluted land, breathing polluted air, their health is at risk. They're trying to fish in polluted water - if they can find fish - which becomes increasingly difficult. So, the cumulative impact of this - and this has been going on for 50 years in the Delta - this is incredibly serious, and hopefully this U.N. report, because it's science-based and peer reviewed science, will move the debate forward and move us towards actually dealing with the problem in the Delta."

Environmental experts predict it could take up to 30 years to clean up pollution in the Niger Delta.

Shell Urged To Reveal Scale Of Oil Spill

Oil has been leaking from a ruptured pipeline at Royal Dutch Shell’s Gannet Alpha platform in the North Sea since last Wednesday at least, but even three days after the company confirmed that the spill had actually occurred, there is still no indication of how much crude has leaked into the ocean.



An oil spill in the North Sea is estimated to amount to several hundred tonnes, making it the biggest such leak in more than a decade, according to government figures.

The spill - far greater than annual totals dating back to 2001 - was described as "substantial" by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

The total amount of oil discharged into the North Sea in 2009 was 50.93 tonnes.

Shell, which operates the Gannet Alpha platform about 112 miles east of Aberdeen, said the subsea well was shut on Wednesday, but it has not confirmed the quantity of the leak.

A DECC spokesman said the energy firm is still trying to "completely halt" any further leakage.

The spokesman said: "Although small in comparison to the Macondo, Gulf of Mexico, incident, in the context of the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS), the spill is substantial.

"But it is not anticipated that oil will reach the shore and indeed it is expected that it will be dispersed naturally.

"The UK Continental Shelf oil spill record is strong, which is why it is disappointing that this spill has happened.

"We take any spill very seriously and we will be investigating the causes of the spill and learning any lessons from the response to it."

The spokesman added: "Current estimates are that the spill could be several hundred tonnes.

"However, it is always very difficult and takes time to get an accurate assessment of the size of a spill and this is subject to ongoing revision."

It is important to note that it is unlikely to be very much. Production at Gannet Alpha is estimated to be between 4,500 to 6,000 barrels of oil a day and with the well that feeds the pipeline shut-in since Wednesday, the amount of oil that could have leaked out probably totals in the hundreds of barrels rather than the thousands.

The incident is very different from BP’s Gulf of Mexico spill last year, where oil spewed into the ocean directly from a wellhead that was thousands of feet underwater. The extreme depth and pressure complicated efforts to seal the well.

Gannet Alpha is a shallow rig, standing in water only 310 feet deep. However, rough seas and high winds are a complicating factor. But by not detailing the full extent of the spill days into the event, Shell runs the risk of allowing conjecture and skepticism to gain traction.

While Shell says it doesn’t expect the oil to reach British shores, that claim is undermined by its reluctance to say how much oil it’s actually dealing with.

Already environmental groups and politicians are criticizing the company for Shell’s secretive response, saying that even a minor spill can have a serious ecological impact. And the spill isn’t the first to have occurred on the platform. Data from the Health and Safety Executive show that 10 leak incidents happened at Gannet Alpha in 2009 and 2010. While only one of them was logged as serious–in that case, owing to a gas leak that could have ignited–it does raise the specter of ongoing safety and maintenance issues at the facility.

The HSE has in the past highlighted problems with ageing North Sea oil facilities, saying last December the industry “still has a long way to go in this.”

For now, Shell says that it has the leak under control and that the flow rate is slowing, suggesting that pressure inside and out the pipeline is equilibrating. This could mean the worst is over. But for now, we’re still dealing in hypotheticals. Until Shell comes out with some harder facts, that won’t change.