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The more these birds are taken from the wild, the "more drab" Asia's tropical forests would eventually become

Researchers say world needs to start preparing for “climate endgame”

Arguably one of the biggest names in international cricket, Shane Warne was the golden boy for Australia in a generation that dictated terms in the gentleman's game. In an international career that spanned over almost 14 years, Warne, on the back of envious bowling records, established himself as one of the greatest spinners to have ever graced the game of cricket. By the time he retired in 2006, Warne had 17,995 runs and 708 wickets in Tests alongside 7,541 runs and 293 wickets in ODI cricket. While his feats surely give a glimpse of his cricketing success, Warne's wizardry with the ball is perhaps best showcased in the 'ball of the century' he bowled on 4th June, 1993 to England's Mike Gatting. #OnThisDay in 1993, a 23-year-old Shane Warne delivered 'The Ball of the Century' pic.twitter.com/vcGkv885yG â ICC (@ICC) June 3, 2020 Warne had only played 11 Tests and one ODI when he was included in the Australian line-up for the Ashes against England for the Manchester Test. While others would have been a bit nervous, Warne, having taken 33 wickets in 12 international matches, probably took it as a challenge to prove his mettle early in his career. Introduced into the attack, after his team was bowled out for 289 runs in the first innings, Warne was facing Gatting, a renowned player against spin-bowling, at the other end. While many had backed experienced Gatting to give young Warne a tough time, the Australian turned the tables on the veteran in style. One heck of a delivery... Shane Warne, you beauty.... â Ashwani (@ImashwaniKsingh) June 4, 2020 Bowling his maiden delivery in the famed Ashes, a 23-year-old Warne took his famous slow-walk, as part of his run-up, towards the crease and used his wind-up action to deliver a masterpiece. The leg-break delivery saw the ball, moving through the air, beginning to drift to the right, eventually pitching several inches outside the line of leg-stump. Taking note of the trajectory, Gatting, as an experienced player of spin-bowling, pushed his leg forward to get to the pitch of the ball to nullify the danger. But, to Gatting and everyone's surprise, the ball, despite pitching outside leg, spun back in (almost two-and-a-half feet), cuffing off sharply to beat the batsman and clipping the top of the off-stump. The sharp turn and bounce extracted by Warne didn't just leave Gatting surprised and bemused, but also saw the unbelievable delivery labelled as the 'ball of the century'. The dismissal of Gatting opened the floodgates for Australia as Warne claimed three more scalps as England were bowled out for 210. Sensing Warne's success, captain Allan Border declared Australia's second innings at 432/5. And, as expected, Warne took four more wickets to help Aussies seal a 179-run win and go 1-0 up in the six-match series. While Australia won the game, Warne etched his name in the history books for his legendary delivery which didn't just put him on the cricketing map, but also earned him the reputation of the man who saved the dying art of leg-spin in international cricket. Warne went on to establish himself as one of the greatest spinners of all-time, taking wickets and shattering records at will. And, while he might have retired from the game, Warne's legends, like the 'miracle ball', continue to live on. View the full article

"The system is based on obsolescence, exploitation and overproduction. This affects the planet, the people, the animals. It needs systemic change."

Known to be one of the world's largest tiger habitats, India has long been struggling to keep up the numbers of tigers living within its borders. However, things seem to have taken a turn for the better. According to the 2018 'Status of Tigers in India' report issued by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) along with Wildlife Institute of India, the adult tiger population in the country has gone up and presently stands at 2,967. © Unsplash That's a significant jump from 2014 when the numbers were 2,226. The good news was shared by Indian Forest Service officer Parveen Kaswan on Twitter, who shared a hreat-warming picture of a tigress walking with her cubs in the forest. This is magical picture. Count the #cubs with #tigress. I know for a reason how few people will be elated after seeing this. Efforts are helping in making this species bounce back from verge of extinction. PC Siddharth Singh. Magical Terai. pic.twitter.com/ZIaMlUAxBj — Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) January 6, 2020 There has been a significant rise in the tiger population in the western part of Uttarakhand's Terai region and this has given animal lovers a lot of hope when it comes to the revival of the species to its former glory. I hope they all live till their old age.. i hope the forest stands strong for them. I hope the human race gives the Earth a chance. Thank you for this post, makes me realise to work for them is far more satisfying than anything else — BadamiSaheb Raoð®ð³ ðððððªð¦ð¢ð¬ð³ððð (@BadamiSaheb) January 6, 2020 Amazing, our news channels should show some good news as well. Amazing photo #India — Arunjit (@arunjitmanna) January 6, 2020 Beautiful!! So happy to see this majestic creature thrive and flourish.. — Priyanka Deshpande (@priyanka2711) January 6, 2020 What a beautiful picture! How can any fool think of killing these beautiful animals? — James Roberts (@roberts2203) January 6, 2020 Gorgeous shot. Did you take it? I imagine it's difficult managing such amazing predators in areas with pressing populations of humans. I wish we could put the $ being spend on war to protecting habitats. :( — Carolyn (@cstampeen) January 6, 2020 Tigress is healthy & reproducing.5 cubs..hope many survive till longg.Forest officials & guards are doing a good job of protecting themð — Prarthana (@westendy6_g) January 6, 2020 View the full article

Humans have screwed up the Earth's environment so much so that the planet's sixth mass extinction may become a reality by the year 2100. After carefully analysing all of Earth's five previous mass extinctions, a prominent mathematician has come to the conclusion that the next one is just around the corner. In the last 540 million years, our planet has experienced five of these devastating ecological events, and almost all of them were caused due to the disruption of the cycling of carbon through the oceans and then the atmosphere. © Nat Geo The study, Thresholds of catastrophe in the Earth system, was conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) by Daniel H. Rothman, professor of geophysics at MIT's Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences. Using a mathematical formula based on the rate and magnitude of change in the carbon cycle, Rothman identified a total of 31 events in the last 542 million years in which a significant change occurred in Earth's carbon cycle. © How It Works Magazine With the study, Rothman also identified the “thresholds of catastrophe” in the carbon cycle that, if exceeded, would cause an unstable environment, which will ultimately lead to mass extinction. According to his analysis of these mass extinctions, he calculated how much extra carbon could be added to the oceans – which absorb vast amounts from the atmosphere – before triggering a sixth one, and the answer was alarming, to say the least. The scary figure is 310 gigatons, which is just 10 gigatons above the figure expected to be emitted by 2100 under the best-case scenario forecast by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The worst-case scenario would result in more than 500 gigatons. © Youtube Explaining the conclusion of the study, Rothman said this isn't to say that a catastrophe will happen tomorrow. “It's saying that, if left unchecked, the carbon cycle would move into a realm which would be no longer stable, and would behave in a way that would be difficult to predict. In the geologic past, this type of behaviour is associated with mass extinction.” Apparently, about 50% of the number of animals that once shared the planet with humans have been wiped out already, and we can expect to see even more powerful assault on biodiversity in the next two decades. Rothman said that his study highlights the imperative of controlling carbon emissions.

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes a reality in every gadget we can imagine, Elon Musk suggests that the human race must integrate with machines in order to stay relevant and avoid extinction. Elon Musk strongly proposes that humans must become a hybrid of machines and flesh to survive. In other words, we must become cyborgs. Musk was recently in the UAE where he launched the latest Tesla, and he told the audience, “Over time I think we will probably see a closer merger of biological intelligence and digital intelligence,". In a quote to CNBC, he also said, "It's mostly about the bandwidth, the speed of the connection between your brain and the digital version of yourself, particularly output." © YouTube Musk deduced that computers are capable of communicating at “a trillion bits per second” whereas humans can only compute 10 bits per second when communicating via a smartphone or a computer. To put this into perspective, AI is growing at a rapid pace and might be able to penetrate every aspect of human life very soon. Hence, Musk believes that humans need to merge with machines in order to stay relevant in this age. © YouTube What this means is that technology today demands high speeds which humans will not be able to keep up with. Hence, Musk thinks that there will be a day when we will have to implant technology into humans. Thanks to AI, self-driven cars are now a reality, which also means it cause an immediate social upheaval. Self-driving technology will make driving as a job completely obsolete, "so we need to figure out new roles for what do those people do, but it will be very disruptive and very quick." So let’s say we become a human-cyborg like Robocop. Do you think it is a good idea? What will be left of our human instincts and feelings? That is something we have to consider if mankind ever decides to become a hybrid machine in the distant future.