Extinction VCC News
[Sep 07, 2026] Surviving Earth: The docuseries “Surviving Earth” which premiering on June 11, 2026 on NBC, explores eight large extinction events going back 450 million years. through the lives – and eventual annihilation – of the creatures that preceded or existed alongside the dinosaurs. Vivian Ho in her article “‘Life has always managed to crawl through’: docuseries takes us back to mass extinction events” give voice to those involved in producing the series. Tim Haines, the producer of the series, comments that this series essentially on death is actually a series on life and its resilience, and how life bounced back from the volcanic eruptions, flooding and drought that have repeatedly caused large extinction events. View the trailer on YouTube.
[Jun 13, 2026] Wildfires Increase Extinction Risks: In her article “‘Flamin’ cockatoos’ have lost much of their habitat to bushfires. Can the species survive? published in the Guardian, Petra Stock points out that two fires in 12 years wiped out all but a handful of the mature native pines in Victoria’s Wyperfeld national park. This area is a key breeding ground for endangered pink cockatoos. The author asked the important question whether the damage done by increasing wildfires will lead to the extinction of the species.
[Apr 25, 2026] Wildlife bridge in California close to finish: Katharine Gammon reports in her article “California’s wildlife bridge became a target for the right. Now it’s eyeing the finish line” published in the Guardian that this important wildlife bridge over a very busy 10-lane part of the 101 Freeway came under attach by the Murdoch-owned California Post, which “published an op-ed in March, penned by two writers from the conservative Manhattan Institute, that criticized the $114m project for going over budget, calling it a “jobs program for environmentalists” and a “multimillion-dollar bridge to nowhere”. Other conservative commentators piled on; from Fox News to Trump’s transportation secretary, Sean Duffy.” Despite all this rightwing hate, the bridge is already occupied by wildlife and will be fully operational in December 2026.
[Apr 25, 2026] Sumatran orangutan use canopy bridge first time: This certainly is good news: Isaaq Tomkins reports in his article “‘Cries of delight’ as Sumatran orangutan filmed using canopy bridge to cross road for first time” published in the Guardian that after a wait of two years, a young male of this endangered species was filmed for the first time crossing the bridge over the Lagan-Pagindar road, which provides an essential route for local people but which became a barrier for animals. Beautiful to watch the video, but is there really hope in this?
Platform News
[Aug 29, 2026] TLNP VCC opened: The "Towards Less Noise Pollution VCC" has been initialized and is open now.
[Aug 03, 2026] Alliance of World Scientists Declares Planetary Emergency: In the paper “ World scientists’ warning to humanity: a third notice” the Alliance of World Scientists includes the “Declaration of a planetary emergency.” The declaration states: “We, the undersigned, recognize that Earth is now in a state of planetary emergency. Climate change, biodiversity loss, land and freshwater degradation, pollution, and unsustainable production and consumption are destabilizing the Earth system that supports all life.”
You can sign the declaration here ...
[Aug 03, 2026] Hothouse Earth: arriving sooner than you think…: Julian Cribb writes in his latest blog: “Latest measurements, carefully analysed to exclude anomalies such as El Nino, reveal a planet cooking up at a steady 0.48 degrees per decade since 2015, in what is thought to be the most rapid heating event in all its geological history.” We are experiencing the most rapid heating event in Earth's billions of years long history! We have caused this event with a few hundred years of sole focus on unlimited growth using all the ancient solar energy accumulated by Earth's biosphere over more than 250 million years - just because we could! That is something to reflect on!
