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Australia's loss of biodiversity is unprecedented in human history but it is well-positioned to reach global targets to slow the devastation, conservation group WWF says.
The warning is included in a report released today by WWF International, 2010 and Beyond: Rising to the Biodiversity Challenge, which outlines the global decline of plants and animals.
• 27 percent of species declined since 1970
• Australia 6th waste producer in the world
• 40 percent of all extinct mammal species are in Australia
• Australia well positioned to slow species loss
Its Living Plant Index tracks nearly 4,000 species of fish, birds, reptiles, mammals and amphibians worldwide.
On average, indexed species have declined by 27 per cent from 1970 to 2005.
WWF Australia director of conservation Ray Nias said 40 per cent of all mammal species that have become extinct in human history were in Australia.
"The recent impact we've had in Australia is probably unprecedented in modern human history because of the speed and the scale of the impact," Dr Nias told AAP.
"In just 70 years we've done the sort of damage to this continent that most other continents took tens of thousands of years to achieve."
Australia has very old and poor soils resulting in a fragile landscape highly susceptible to degradation, he said.
The Tasmanian Tiger and numerous small bandicoots and kangaroos were driven to extinction once European farming methods took hold in the 20th century, Dr Nias said.
In 2002, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity set targets to achieve reductions in the current rate of biodiversity at global, regional and national levels.
However, today's report shows those targets will not be met unless countries make a greater effort to reduce the environmental impact of their populations.
Dr Nias said Australia was well positioned to slow the trend but must focus on greenhouse gas emissions and reducing its dependence on coal as a power fuel source.

news.sbs.com.au

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y., March 18 (UPI) — Golf great Tiger Woods has bought a 6-acre estate in Southampton, N.Y., the pricey playground at the east end of Long Island.
The price was $65 million, the New York Post reported Tuesday. For that, Woods got an exclusive address, a 13,200-square-foot mansion, a 7,200-square-foot guest house, lily pond, swimming pool, library and tennis court.
Woods already has a number of places to hang out, including an estate on Jupiter Island in Florida and a 155-foot yacht named Privacy. He is also building a palace in Dubai, next to the golf course he designed.
A source told the Post Woods almost lost the Southampton house, with a higher bid offered a few hours after he signed.
Woods’ neighbors on Gin Lane include Arthur Ochs “Punch” Sulzberger, head of the family that owns The New York Times, designer Vera Wang and developer Alfred Taubman.
“It’s one of the oldest and grandest estates on the East End,” one broker said. “As soon as something goes on the market on Gin Lane it gets snapped up quickly, even in this slowing economy.”

upi.com

The spectacle that is the recruitment of Jeannette, Pa., quarterback Terrelle Pryor might soon be coming to an end. The much-ballyhooed signal-caller appears to be closing in on a decision, according to his position coach at Jeannette High, Roy Hall.
“I would imagine in the next week or two (Pryor will make his choice),” Hall told Scout.com on Monday. “I think he will definitely wrap it up by then.”
Pryor has made no public declarations about which school leads in the race for his services, but persistent rumblings suggest he is leaning toward Ohio State. However, neither Penn State nor Michigan will concede defeat until he puts definitive nails in their coffins. Still, the possibility of losing the five-star talent to a most-hated rival is a tough pill for Michigan fans to swallow. There’d be no sugarcoating the loss, but it wouldn’t amount to the end of the world. Rich Rodriguez and company have already hit the 2009 recruiting trail hard to chase down new and talented options.
The key ingredient in the new mold of Michigan quarterback is the ability to be a dual threat. The four prospects that have been offered thus far all fit that description. Cypress-Ridge, Texas, quarterback Russell Shepard, a five-star prospect by Scout.com and the No. 2 rated quarterback overall, chose to end his recruitment early by committing to LSU on March 3. It’s not necessary to lament that loss, though, because the others that have been uncovered are just as dynamic.

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