Commentary: The Myth of Extraordinary Specie Extinction Due to Man Caused Global Warming

By Jay Lehr and Tom Harris

Al Gore wrote in his 2006 book, An Inconvenient Truth, that Global Warming “is causing the loss of living species at a level comparable to the extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs 6.5 million years ago”. It is estimated that there are currently over 10 million species on the Earth, more than any time in its history. New species are constantly replacing old. Extinctions have always been an integral part of the Earth’s history and in recent centuries mankind has been the cause of some. We have encroached on the habitat of some animals. But in fact not a single species has been shown to be either threatened or endangered by warming of the Earth by man’s increasing use of fossil fuels and the carbon dioxide emissions therefrom.

A range of interrelated phenomena can contribute to extinctions. They include Temperature Changes, Habitat Destruction, Competition, Invasive Diseases and Reproductive Failure. Species are more vulnerable when there are major temperature changes over a short period which is what most believe caused the end of the dinosaurs following an asteroid impact. Some scientists are now predicting major extinctions in Southeast Asia from deforestation. The introduction of the Brown Snake in Guam during World War II is thought to have eliminated a dozen bird species there. The human population was decimated in Europe in the 14th century when the bubonic plague migrated from China. The Wooly Mammoth and Sabre Tooth Tiger became extinct in North America because their reproductive rate could not keep up with population losses. And there is no question that human activities have contributed to extinctions as the population expanded into animal habitats.

However none of these extinctions have had anything to do with climate change in the past century and no proof exists that any climate change is due to human use of fossil fuel.

Happily many animals, still endangered are seeing their populations flourish due to excellent conservation programs. White tail deer, moose, blue whales and wolves are but a few of these.

Life as we know it cannot exist without carbon dioxide which forms the basis of photosynthesis. Yet climate change advocates claim that CO2 is an evil toxic gas that needs to be removed from the environment while horticulturists deliberately inject CO2 into greenhouse air to stimulate growth. Beneficial effects include shortening of growing seasons, increased plant yields and increased crop quality. Do plants and the animal life that depends on them do better in the tropics than the poles. Do crops grow better in the winter or the summer.

Tropical forests cover less than 12% of all land, yet they contain over 50% of all 10 million plant and animal species that inhabit the entire Earth. The arctic covers 10% of the land area but contains only 600 plant species and only 100 species of birds, no reptiles or amphibians and only 20 mammals.

Climate change advocates try to circumvent the obvious connection between warm climates and biodiversity by claiming that the secondary effects of global warming such as droughts or the melting of planetary ice will extinguish existing life. However droughts are not increasing and the ice is not melting.

Proof that higher atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and/or temperatures are not endangering life on Earth is evident over 600 million years of Earth history. The geologic record shows that temperature and CO2 levels have both been higher than they are today throughout almost the entire history of life on Earth. In every instance, plant life thrived when temperatures and carbon dioxide levels were both substantially higher than they are today. If tropical conditions allow life to thrive, what conditions lead to extinctions? S.J. Gould, in his 1993, The Book of Life, tracks 20 mass extinctions in the geologic record. All of which give strong clues for their occurrence pointing to global cooling.

Conservation organizations routinely rank species relative to their risk of extinction. In descending order of the threat, species are: critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable, near threatened or of least concern. Threat levels are determined by considering a wide range of factors including existing and historical populations and whether populations are increasing or decreasing, and whether habitats are being destroyed. As example, mountain gorillas, with only 400 individuals and hawksbill turtles (25,000) are both on the critical endangered list. Snow leopards (6000) and sea lions (50,000) are both considered to be endangered.

Most endangered species are large animals having relatively low reproductive rates. Currently the World Wildlife Federation (WWF) has listed 19 major animal species that are critically endangered. All of the critical endangered animals are threatened due to human predation and habitat destruction. For instance the orangutan population of 15,000 animals is dwindling as a result of deforestation. Not a single one of these species is endangered by global warming . The WWF has identified 27 endangered animal species all due to either hunting or habitat destruction. In fact, Galápagos sea lions have seen their numbers grow from 20,000 up to 50,000 animals since 2002. In the next lower category of threatened animals the WWF lists 20 that are vulnerable, again due to hunting and habitat destruction with one possible exception. The climate change advocates are confident that the Polar Bear is threatened by global warming. The facts show otherwise.

The “Poster animal” of the climate change movement is the polar bear. They are portrayed as cute and cuddly but in fact are at the top of the food chain eating baby seals for sustenance. They are shown stranded on ice floes. There reasoning is Al Gore says all the ice is melting and they will have no place to live. But in reality the floating ice (pack ice) is not melting significantly and the polar bear is thriving. Its numbers have quintupled in the past 50 years from 5000 to 25000 since carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have increased dramatically.

But there is more as to species distinction. They are also saying that absorption of carbon dioxide into the oceans is making the oceans acidic which will kill all marine life. In fact, the pH of the oceans which is a measure of whether they are acidic or basic as they have been for eons has not changed one bit since atmospheric CO2 has been increasing.

Life evolved in the oceans over 500 million years ago when CO2 in the atmosphere was many times greater than today, yet you are to believe that 400 ppm of CO2 is threatening all life in the sea. The exact opposite is true. Most oceanic food sources depend on photosynthesis based on carbon dioxide. The idea that carbon dioxide will destroy all marine life on Earth is total nonsense, as are all claims of specie extinction due to climate change.

Portions of this article have been excerpted with permission of the publisher and author of the 2018 book THE MYTHOLOGY OF GLOBAL WARMING by Bruce Bunker Ph.D. , Publisher, Moonshine Cove. For more information on this topic, the authors strongly recommend this book as the very best source of accurate information on the climate change debate.