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Lyle Lewis

@race2extinct.bsky.social

2.9K followers 620 following 5.2K posts

My book “Racing To Extinction” analyzes the imminent disappearance of humanity through the lens of my 30+ years as an ecologist with federal environmental agencies in the U.S. https://race2extinct.com

race2extinct.com

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Lyle Lewis @race2extinct.bsky.social · Aug 17

Why is humanity headed for disappearance? My book, Racing To Extinction and website race2extinct.com explores our deep-time journey—2.5 million years of evolution leading to the ecological crisis we face today.

A thread on what you’ll find in my work and website 👇

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Lyle Lewis @race2extinct.bsky.social · 10m

Yup

Lyle Lewis @race2extinct.bsky.social · 26m

Humanity constantly creates environmental quick-fixes with no thought or regard for their future ramifications. The possibility exists that one of these cherished solutions will be our swan song.

Hubris and desperation are dangerous bedfellows.

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Lyle Lewis @race2extinct.bsky.social · 6h

😁

Lyle Lewis @race2extinct.bsky.social · 22h

8.2B people is unmitigable. I use “less.” It won’t make a difference but I don’t feel as much guilt about my role in what is happening.

Lyle Lewis @race2extinct.bsky.social · 1d

I appreciate the thought you’ve put into this. But ecological overshoot doesn’t care about governance systems. No political structure, however well designed, can outvote biophysical limits.

Lyle Lewis @race2extinct.bsky.social · 1d

…or mercury? lead? PFAS? Dioxins? No shortage of options! 😜🤣

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Lyle Lewis @race2extinct.bsky.social · 1d

Salmon collapse? Someone else’s fault.
Colorado River running dry? Someone else’s fault.
Climate breakdown? Someone else’s fault.
Scapegoating is our national pastime.
insideclimatenews.org/news/0610202...

As Colorado River Nears Collapse, It Faces Leadership, Transparency ‘Crisis,’ Environmentalists Warn - Inside Climate News

A new report from a coalition of environmental organizations offers recommendations on how to address the declining water supply in the river as negotiations over its future stall.

insideclimatenews.org

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Lyle Lewis @race2extinct.bsky.social · 1d

About 117 billion humans have lived on Earth. The math is tidy and even accounts for our recent surge. But in ecology, exponential growth isn’t elegant; it’s terrifying. On a finite planet…..what goes up, will come down.
www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-...

How Many Humans Have Ever Lived? The Math May Surprise You

Is it really possible that half of all people who have ever been age 65 or older are still alive today? We explore the amazing mathematics of demography to find out

www.scientificamerican.com

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Lyle Lewis @race2extinct.bsky.social · 1d

Blocked me. Ha! People literally and figuratively run from the truth. It’s simply too much.

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Reposted by Lyle Lewis

lights out for migrating birds @lightsoutforbirds.bsky.social · 1d

ecori.org/some-snail-p...

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Lyle Lewis @race2extinct.bsky.social · 1d

Full article here:
climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications...

Understanding six “key truths” about climate change predicts policy support, discussion, and political advocacy

Social norms and collective efficacy are strong predictors

climatecommunication.yale.edu

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Lyle Lewis @race2extinct.bsky.social · 1d

But here are the real truths:
• Nothing usurps economic growth
• Actions are fine unless it changes my lifestyle
• We need more energy—just not limits
• Fixing climate’s OK, even if it wrecks everything else

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Lyle Lewis @race2extinct.bsky.social · 1d

Roads, farms & cities are locking big cats into shrinking habitat. Cut off from neighbors, they can’t swap genes. Inbreeding magnifies every other threat—poaching, disease, habitat loss. #RacingToExtinction
apple.news/AXc1vozjeTKe...

The curious case of the tigers who changed their stripes — National Geographic

A century ago, India’s tigers were on the brink of extinction. Slowly, their numbers have rebounded. But that ecological success has prompted a dire new problem—and a race to save many of them from ge...

apple.news

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Lyle Lewis @race2extinct.bsky.social · 1d

A warning we can’t ignore???
Hold my beer.

Lady In The Studio 🦘 @ladyinthestudio.bsky.social · 1d

And much more massive in South Australia. Vaste areas with almost all marine life dead
www.marineconservation.org.au/south-austra...

South Australia’s algal bloom crisis: a warning we can’t ignore - Australian Marine Conservation Society

The devastating algal bloom currently occurring along South Australia’s coastline is a heartbreaking and visible sign of distress in our marine ecosystems.

www.marineconservation.org.au

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Lyle Lewis @race2extinct.bsky.social · 1d

🫤😜

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Lyle Lewis @race2extinct.bsky.social · 1d

They are way too nice for that to happen…..so are doomed.

Lyle Lewis @race2extinct.bsky.social · 1d

True. If 8.2 billion people didn’t eat, drink, build houses, drive, or wear clothes, there’d be no problem. The issue isn’t existence; it’s scale.

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Lyle Lewis @race2extinct.bsky.social · 1d

😟 It’s happening everywhere.

Lyle Lewis @race2extinct.bsky.social · 1d

From Barcelona to Hawaii, from Iceland to the Okavango Delta, locals are fed up with too many people. Ironically, both humans and animals sense there are too many of us, yet we refuse to call overpopulation what it is: a problem.
apple.news/ASENAfZY0Tli...

Elephants flip and trample British tourists’ canoes in Botswana — The Times and The Sunday Times

A canoe carrying British tourists was capsized and trampled by an elephant in a crocodile-filled river in Botswana. The female elephant charged at several canoes which were on a wildlife safari in the...

apple.news

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Lyle Lewis @race2extinct.bsky.social · 2d

Absolutely. Dunning-Kruger knew what they were talking about.

Lyle Lewis @race2extinct.bsky.social · 2d

It’s so very true.

Reposted by Lyle Lewis

tkillion.bsky.social @tkillion.bsky.social · 2d

Different link - www.latimes.com/environment/...

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Lyle Lewis @race2extinct.bsky.social · 2d

🤣😂🤣

Lyle Lewis @race2extinct.bsky.social · 2d

Nearly 400 marine mammals have washed up sick or dead on California’s Central Coast since June. Leptospirosis, toxic algal blooms, food collapse. The ocean itself is becoming uninhabitable for the life it holds — and most deaths go unseen. #RacingToExtinction

apple.news/AcjTotwG6SyC...

Marine mammals are dying in record numbers along the California coast — Los Angeles Times

It's been a doozy of a year for marine mammals, who have been dying in record numbers along the California coast. Volunteer rescue crews are traumatized and fatigued, but refuse to give up.

apple.news

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Lyle Lewis @race2extinct.bsky.social · 2d

Seen other examples of misleading “before/after” photos — in conservation, weight-loss, or anywhere else? Drop them below. Visual storytelling is powerful. So is holding it accountable.

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