Thanks Vinod!

when it comes to my heart and outlook on love this site says:

Your Heart is Feeling Safe

Right now, all is good with your heart. And you intend on keeping it that way. Whether you're deeply in love or just looking, you know that your heart will be taken care of. You never risk your heart too much, but you don't hold it back either. You know who to trust your heart with. Deep down, your heart is susceptible to: Getting a little too comfortable Your current outlook on love: Calm and future oriented Your love life will improve if you: Treat other people's hearts the way you expect yours to be treated Watch out for: Taking the people you're dating for granted

Do I have an addictive personality???

Your Personality is 28% Addictive

You don't have an addictive personality - at least, not usually. You can indulge in vices freely, and there's little chance that you'll get hooked.

Am I a total Geek???!?!?

Your Geek Profile:

Academic Geekiness: High Geekiness in Love: High Fashion Geekiness: Low General Geekiness: Low Internet Geekiness: Low Gamer Geekiness: None Movie Geekiness: None Music Geekiness: None SciFi Geekiness: None

How Texas am I??

You Are 60% Texas

At first, you seem Texan... but just because a chicken has wings don't mean it can fly.

Am I disturbingly profound or profoundly disturbing???

You Are Disturbingly Profound

Would I cheat on my Man, heres my results???

You Couldn't Cheat On Your Guy

Not that you'd want to anyway! You're incredibly loyal and honest... Definitely not the cheating kind.

Should he take me home to Mom?????

Your Guy Should Bring You Home

You're classy, well-mannered, and you have great social skills. And you're definitely sure to impress your guy's parents. If he doesn't bring you home to meet mom, he's crazy!

How every man should respond... Destiny's Child-Say my name

and if not... then well... no need to waste time and that goes both ways for men and women.. (this is my fav. Beyonce song) Beyonce-Irreplaceable

Where ever you may be my dearest and bestest friend, know that you are remembered always.. the 8 long years you spent at my side were probably the hardest of my entire life. Years that I can and will never forget... and with those memories.. you live on as a part of them. You are greatly missed.. and I can only hope.. that I gave you a good life.. you kept me strong and comforted me through so much when everyone else disappeared. My loyal friend and companion always.... may you be at ease.. you can never be replaced.. and you never will.

Most of us think of dinosaurs when we think of extinctions, but the period when the dinosaurs went extinct was actually not the one with the worst extinction ever. The worst mass extinction occured during the Permian period where 80-90% of all lifeforms went extinct, most of which were marine animals due to the drastic fluctuations in sea levels at the time due to glaciations. It is estimated that as many as 96% of all species of skeleton bearing marine invertebrates became extinct. Another common misconception that we sometimes have is that mass extinctions occur suddenly... they do relative to the Earths age or the time it takes for species to evolve, but extinctions can take millions of years. The major mass extinction of the permian took 5 to 8 Myr. So why are we less concerned about mass extinctions now as if they are a thing of the past? Do they just stop occuring? There is a trend that has been seen that illustrates less extinction.. but also less origination of new species. So whats going on now?

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None of the mass extinctions of the past was caused by the actions of a single species. But that is what is happening today. Within the next few centuries, the diversity of life will almost certainly plummet at a greater pace than ever before.

The human threat to Earth's biodiversity has accelerated steadily due to ever more powerful technology and the exponential growth of the world's human population, which reached 6.4 billion in mid 2004 and is increasing by an estimated 76 million persons a year. The per capita rate of population growth is greatest in the developing countries, which are chiefly tropical and subtropical, but the per capita impact on the world's environment is greatest in the most highly industrialized countries. An average American, for example, has perhaps 140 times the environmental impact of an average Kenyan, because the United States is so profligate a consumer of resources (harvested throughout the world) and energy (with impact ranging from strip mines and oil spills to insecticides and production of "greenhouse gases" that cause global warming).

Some species are threatened by hunting or overfishing, and others by species that humans have introduced into new regions. But by far the greatest cause of extinction is the destruction of habitat. It is largely for this reason that 29% of North American freshwater fishes are endangered or already extinct, and that about 10% of the world's bird species are considered endangered by the Internation Council for Bird Preservation.

The numbers of species likely to be lost are highest in tropical forests, which are being destroyed at a phenomenal and accelerating rate. As E.O. Wilson (1992) said, "in 1989 the surviving rain forests occupied an area about that of the contiguous forty-eight states of the United States, and they were being reduced by an amount equivalent to the size of Florida each year." Several authors have estimated that 10 to 25 percent of tropical rain forest species accounting for as much as 5 to 10 percent of Earth's species diversity- will become extinct in the next 30 years. To this toll must be added extinctions caused by the destruction of species-rich coral reefs, such as Madagascar and the Cape Province of South Africa, that harbor unusually high numbers of endemic species.

In the long run, an even greater threat to biodiversity may be global warming caused by high and increasing consumption of fossil fuels and production of CO2 and other "greenhouse" gases. Earth's climate has become 0.6 degrees Celsius warmer, on average, during the last century, and the rate of warming is accelerating. Although climate change will vary in different regions (some will actually suffer a cooling trend), snow cover, glaciers, and polar ice caps are rapidly diminishing, and some tropical areas are becoming much drier. These changes are much faster than most of the climate changes that have occurred in the past. Some species may adapt by genetic change, but there is already evidence that many species will shift their ranges. Such shifts, however, are difficult or impossible for many mountaintop and Arctic species, and for many others because their habitats and the habitat "corridors" along which they might disperse have been destroyed. Computer simulations, based on various scenarios of warming rate and species' capacity for dispersal, suggest that within the next 50 years, between 18 and 35 percent of species will become "committed to extinction"-that is, they will have passed the point of no return(Thomas et al. 2004).

If mass extinctions have happened naturally in the past, why should we be so concerned? Different people have different answers, randing from utilitarian to aesthetic to spiritual. Some point to the many thousands of species that are used by humans today, randing from familiar foods to fiber, herbal medicines, and spices used by peoples throughout the world. Others cite the economic value of ecotourism and the enormous popularity of bird-watching in some countries. Biologists will argue that thousands of species prove useful (many already have) as pest control agents, or as sources of medicinal compounds or industrially valuable materials. Except in a few well-known groups, such as vertebrates and vascular plants, most species have not even been described, much less been studied for their ecological and possible social value.

The rationale for conserving biodiversity is only partly utilitarian, however. Many people (including this author) cannot bear to think that future generations will be deprived of tigers, sea turtles, and macaws. They share with millions of others a deep renewal of spirit in the presence of unspoiled nature. Still others feel that it is in some sense cosmically unjust to extinguish, forever, the species with which we share Earth.

Conservation is an exceedingly complicated topic; it requires not only a concern for other species, but compassion and understanding of the very real needs of people whose lives depend on clearing forests and making other uses of the environment. It requires that we understand not only biology, but also global and local economics, politics, and social issues ranging from the status of women to the reactions of the world's peoples and their governments to what may seem like elitist Western ideas. Anyone who undertakes work in conservation must deal with some of these complexities. But everyone can play a helpful role, however small. We can try to waste less; influence peopleabout the need to reduce population growth (surely the most pressing problem of all); support conservation organizations; patronize environment-conscious businesses; stay aware of current environmental issues; and communicate our concerns to elected officials at every level of government. Few actions of an enlightened citizen of the world can be more important.

(This article is from Evolution First Edition by Douglas Futuyma)

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What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, men would die from great loneliness of spirit, for whatever happens to the beasts also happens to man. All things are connected. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the children of the earth.

------------ Chief Seattle -------------
Suquamish Tribe