THE global warming/extinction myth is back. This concerns the new 1,500-page United Nations assessment titled, “Summary for Policymakers of the Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services”.
It was reported in newspapers that “a new threat has emerged”. Global warming has become “a major driver of wildlife decline”.
When combined with other ways humans are damaging the environment, “climate change is now pushing a growing number of species, such as the Bengal tiger, closer to extinction”.
Linking possible extinctions to climate change makes no sense. It is estimated there are more than 10 million species on earth, more than at any other time in history.
New species are replacing old ones. Although humans are responsible for the extinction of some species in recent centuries, extinctions have always been a part of life.
There are interrelated phenomena that 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 experts believed caused the end of the dinosaurs following an asteroid impact.
Some scientists are predicting extinctions in Southeast Asia from deforestation. The introduction of the brown snake in Guam during World War 2 is thought to have eliminated a dozen bird species there. The woolly mammoth and sabre tooth tiger became extinct in North America because their reproductive rate could not keep up with population losses.
Human population expanded into animal habitats, contributing to extinctions.
But none of the extinctions has anything to do with the past century’s minor warming, just over 1°C globally since 1880, said the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Attributing most of this warming to human activities, is equally flawed. Many animals, while endangered, are recovering due to excellent conservation programmes.
The white tail deer, moose, blue whales, and wolves are but a few of these.
Tropical forests cover less than 12 per cent of all land, yet they contain a majority of plant and animal species on earth.
The Arctic covers 10 per cent of the planet’s land area, but contains only 600 plant species and only 100 species of birds, no reptiles or amphibians, and only 20 mammals.
Obviously, plants and animals thrive in warm climates. Warming is good for life. It is cooling that should concern us.
Climate change advocates try to circumvent the connection between warm climates and biodiversity by claiming that the secondary effects of global warming, such as droughts or the melting of planetary ice, threaten life.
However, droughts are not increasing and, on a planetary scale, the ice is not melting.
Most endangered species are large animals with relatively low reproductive rates.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has 19 major animal species listed that are critically endangered.
All of these are threatened due to human predation and habitat destruction. For instance, the orangutan population of 15,000 is dwindling as a result of deforestation.
WWF has identified 27 endangered animal species due to either hunting or habitat destruction. In the next lower category of threatened animals, WWF lists 20 that are vulnerable, again due to the same reasons.
Former United States vice-president Al Gore warns that, due to ice melting, polar bears will soon have no place to live.
But the reality is different: floating ice (pack ice) is not melting significantly and polar bears are thriving. Indeed, the number of polar bears has quintupled in the past 50 years from about 5,000 to about 25,000 today.
The message to people who treasure our wonderful world of animals is a positive one: you have no reason to fear global warming-induced species extinction. We should focus our efforts on protecting wildlife from real human threats.
DR JAY LEHR
Senior policy analyst, International Climate Science Coalition based in
Ottawa, Canada
TOM HARRIS
Executive director, International Climate Science Coalition