I was honored to join Dr. Marcus Eriksen to dig up a triceratops dinosaur in Wyoming whose extinction 65 million years ago forewarns of the current 6th mass extinction happening right now across the planet.
It is estimated that flora and fauna loss by the end of the 21st Century will be between 20% to 50% of all living species on earth meaning 3/4 of all species on earth could go extinct within a couple human lifetimes. Deforestation, climate change due to the burning of fossil fuels, over population, animal poachers, and ocean acidification are the major contributing factors.
This dig, called the Extinctions Expeditions, is taking place at the point of dinosaur extinction in an effort to educate the world on the 6th mass extinction we are currently in! I was excited to invite pro surfer and YouTube star Jack Tenney on the dig to spread this important message to his audience as well! Together we can make change!
Digging up these 65 million-year-old dinosaurs from the 5th extinction period was a shocking reality check that extinction is real and if we don’t make changes in our daily lives, we too can become just another rock layer in history. We can’t wait until the government passes laws, it’s time to act together as homes, communities, villages, cities, across the earth to change our daily life routines and cultivate a sustainable lifestyle.
During a break from the dig, I tripped over what I thought was a rock and after hours of excavation it turned out to be a 65 million year old triceratops jaw bone.
As a planet, we can prevent that by:
- Reducing fossil fuel emissions
- Reducing chemicals dumped in the ocean including commonly used sunscreens.
- Reducing plastic production
- Turing to green energy to run factories and cars.
- Stopping deforestation.
- Shifting to solar power for electricity
- Grow organic food and practice regenerative agriculture and composting
As individuals:
- Refuse single use plastic like water bottles
- Ride a bike to work or take public transport
- Turn off lights in a room when you are not in the room OR switch to a solar power grid.
- Compost your food scraps instead of throwing them in the garbage.
- Get involved in community organizations and non-profits that are working to change environmental laws.
- Do not buy ivory or other poached animal products.
Dr. Marcus Eriksen would like to invite anyone to join a dig with him to learn more about our current extinction. Visit www.leaplab.org for more information on how to join a dig.
Marcus spent a week at my school teaching the children about dinosaurs. He gave me a Styrofoam mold model of a triceratops horn. I still have it, and all the children I’ve had over the past 40 years have seen it, and looked at it, and talked about it I have a photograph of Marcus from back then. how do I get it to him?