Nope, no brain cells here.
Next up, from the land of the eco-tards, a new endangered species which warrants being protected from evil American Capitalism.
Dirt. No, no I'm not kidding. Dirt.
However, if a scientist at the University of California at Berkeley has his way, we may soon start to hear about soil that is as rare, endangered and beloved as dirt. Ronald Amundson and his co-workers analyzed the distribution of soil in the United States and came up with some astounding statistics about the perilous status of the seemingly ubiquitous earths of North America.
In a recent paper, the scientists argued that of the 13,129 soil series in the United States -- a series is roughly the dirt equivalent of a species in the plant and animal realm -- 4,540 are rare or "rare-unique." On top of this, 508 are endangered, that is, threatened with elimination by agricultural or building practices. And 31 species are "effectively" extinct, meaning that they are 90 to 100 per cent obliterated.
The researchers recommend that at least some of the endangered North American dirt be preserved with the same zealousness devoted to saving the African rhino or the Siberian tiger. "Maybe some groups of soil are worthy of consideration of what we want to leave to the future," Prof. Amundson says.