Endangered Species Hysteria

Starting in 2007, the Environmental Protection Agency began to focus it's attention on the harmful effects of irrigating the Central Valley of California, which runs between Bakersfield and Fresno. After the election and installation of a more sympathetic administration and President, in early 2009, the EPA concluded it's enforcement of the reduction of water for irrigating the Central Valley. Using the Endangered Species Act as a strong legal lever, the EPA asserted that this irrigation endangered a two-inch, minnow-like fish called the Delta Smelt (Hypomesus tranpacificus). Other departments in the Obama administration - and several unelected federal judges - agreed with the EPA's endangered species 'experts' - and thereby wreaked havoc on thousands of people in California ... and elsewhere.

Thereupon, with a swiftness that can only be matched by those ancient gods upon Olympus, the Central Valley of California went from being one of the most fertile agricultural regions on Earth ... to millions of acres of deteriating, semi-arid wasteland. Instead of feeding hundreds of thousands of people around the world, much of the Central Valley is now only fit for growing indigestible tumbleweeds. Oh, yeah ... the Central Valley is also growing hundreds of bank foreclosures on the valley's farms and ranches ... plus, about 15,000 destitute and unemployed California residents.

You could say that this is the story of how the Delta Smelt drove 15,000 California farmers, ranchers and their employees - plus an untold number of the world's hungry people - into extinction!

The Central Valley of California "man-made disaster" is just one of hundreds of examples of people and families harmed by the federal Endangered Species Act. The Endangered Species Act has now been so broadly interpreted that a minnow-like fish is far more important than food and employment for untold thousands of human beings!

_________________________

_________________________________________________

_________________________

Sub-Section 2a: Just how many animal, plant and microbial species have reckless Human Beings driven to extinction?

(1) Amateur naturalist Steve Silk states answers in his blog: " ... In an era with more than 25,000 annual extinctions, it seems as if we're hurtling toward another mass die-off, an evolutionary gateway that has swung shut--killing off 50-90% of the species calling earth home-at least five times in our planet's past. The last mass extinction, the Triassic-Jurassic die-off 65 million years ago, killed off the dinosaurs and made possible the rise of mammals. Some scientists believe global warming, with an assist from other human-driven catastrophes--pollution, land clearing and overfishing--could lead to another mass extinction as early as 2100."

So, Mr. Silk is apparently quoting unnamed others to the effect that over 25,000 species are driven to extinction every year. (By the way, he gets the dinosaur extinction periods wrong).

(2) On July 1, 2009, the Reuters News Service quotes the 'International Union for the Conservation of Nature' as asserting: " ... More than 800 animal and plant species have gone extinct in the past five centuries with nearly 17,000 now threatened with extinction, the International Union for Conservation of Nature reported on Thursday. A detailed analysis of these numbers indicates the international community will fail to meet its 2010 goal of bolstering biodiversity -- maintaining a variety of life forms -- a commitment made by most governments in 2002. Based on data released in 2008 in the union's Red List, the new IUCN analysis is being released now to precede the 2010 target year and to draw a connection between crises in the financial and environmental realms, said report editor Jean-Christophe Vie. 'We don't want to make a choice between nature and the economy; we just want to bring nature to the same level when you have to take a decision,' Vie said by telephone from Switzerland. 'Jobs are important but not jobs to the detriment of nature,' he said. 'We have done that too much and look where we have arrived.' The new analysis shows 869 species became extinct or extinct in the wild since the year 1500 while 290 more species are considered critically endangered and possibly extinct. At least 16,928 species are threatened with extinction, including nearly one-third of amphibians, more than one in eight birds and nearly a quarter of mammals. By comparison, the 2004 Red List showed 784 extinctions since 1500."

So, the International Union and it's report editor, Jean-Christophe Vie, calculated in 2004 that 784 animal and plant species had certainly become extinct since 1500 A.D. (presumably from all causes and not just human activity). Then, in just four short years, the confirmed number of extinct species had rocketed up to 869, a jump of 85 more species in four years! Therefore, an average of 21 species per year apparently went extinct, from all causes, between 2004 and 2008 (which were four years of strong economic and industrial growth throughout most of the world). Even if we use their 2008 figure of 869 provable extinctions, calculated between 1500 and 2008 A.D., that still leaves us with less than 2 known extinctions of species per year, since 1500, from all causes ... ! (NOTE: I left in Mr. Vie's off-topic comments on 'detrimental' human economics and jobs, as they demonstrate some absurdity compared to the relatively rosey picture his extinction numbers paint.) The International Union's estimates of the chances of future extinction of amphibians, birds and mammals must also be tempered by the fact that these threats of extinction include ALL sources. For example, most of the amphibians under threat of extinction are not being menaced by human beings, but rather by a deadly amphibian fungus that was not caused or developed by human activity.

(3) In 2004, the Earth Policy Institute issued a report mildly titled, 'The Sixth Great Extinction: A Status Report' and warned the world: " ... The consensus among biologists is that we now are moving toward another mass extinction that could rival the past big five. This potential sixth great extinction is unique in that it is caused largely by the activities of a single species. It is the first mass extinction that humans will witness firsthand - and not just as innocent bystanders. While scientists are not sure how many species inhabit the planet today, their estimates top 10 million. Yet each year thousands of species, ranging from the smallest microorganisms to larger mammals, are lost for good. Some disappear even before we know of their existence. ... Only a small fraction of the world's plant species has been studied in detail, but as many as half are threatened with extinction. South and Central America, Central and West Africa, and Southeast Asia - all home to diverse tropical forests - are losing plants most rapidly."

So, aside from some hyperbole, what the Earth Policy Institute is stating (as fact) is this: there is a 'consensus of biologists' who believe that we are moving towards a 'sixth mass extinction', that will be caused by humans, and which will afflict the 'estimated 10 million species on the planet'. That 'each year there are thousands of species' that are 'lost for good'. 'Some disappear before we even know of their existence' (which is an absurd statement, when you think about it for a moment)! Finally the state, "Only a small fraction of the world's plant species have been studied in detail, but as many as half are threatened with extinction", which is as fine-sounding a piece of foolishness as you are likely to read in a year! My summary is that Earth Policy Institute's money line is: '... each year thousands of species ... are lost for good'. Incidentally, did you notice that this Earth Policy Institute report failed to mention that the International Institute for the Conservation of Nature had found only about 784 known species went extinct between 1500 and 2003!

Do you think the Earth Policy Institute forgot to mention the International institute's estimate of only 784 confirmed extinct species, that disappeared between 1500 and 2004 A.D.? (If you think this was a simple error of omission, I have a breeding pair of Triceratops I'd like to sell you! The big buggers are great as natural lawn mowers and for estate security ...)

(4) Back in 2006, John Baez wrote a paper that is posted on a University of California website and it's simply titled, 'Extinction', in which Baez writes: "Phillip and Donald Levin estimate that right now one species is going extinct every 20 minutes, and that half of bird and mammal species will be gone in 200 to 300 years. Richard Leakey estimates a loss of between 50,000 and 100,000 species a year, and says that only during the Big Five mass extinctions was the rate comparably high. E. O. Wilson gives a similar estimate. In his book, Michael Benton reviews the sources of uncertainty and makes an estimate of his own: given that there are probably somewhere between 20 and 100 million species in total, he estimates an extinction rate of between 5,000 and 25,000 species per year. This means between 14 and 70 species wiped out per day."

_________________________

So, once again we are back to the outrageous numbers of species going extinct, as much as one type of plant or animal dying off 'every 20 minutes', as of 'right now'. Using a little mathematics, I see that the Professors' Levin estimate that 508 species disappear every week, or that 15,240 species disappear every month, or that well over 180,000 species currently go extinct every year, or that in excess of 1.8 million species disappear every decade! (Yikes!) I also see that Professor Leakey estimates the Earth is currently losing 50,000 to 100,000 species per year, or that equals between 500,000 and 1 million different species dying off in a decade. Finally, famous socio-biologist E. O. Wilson has trotted out his estimate and it is a 'similar estimate' to Richard Leakey. Finally, Mr. Baez cited author Michael Benton as estimating a current extinction rate of 5,000 to 25,000 species per year, which equals an extinction rate of 50,000 to 250,000 species every decade.

Depending upon whether you believe there are 10 million species on Earth (see #3 above), or somewhere between 20 and 100 million species on Earth (see #4 above), ALL LIFE ON EARTH WILL DISAPPEAR AT SOME POINT between just 60 years from now (see Levins', #4 above) ... and 50 million years from now (see International Institute, #2 above).

_________________________

Of course, scientists estimate that in 5 billion years our Sun will expand into a 'red giant' and destroy all life on the planet Earth. (So, a bit of poetry: 'If we must walk upon ice so thin / we may as well dance gaily 'til end".)

... Wherein we demonstrate that Human Beings are occasionally responsible for Species Extinction, but not nearly so often as the Mass Media, Environmental Alarmists and other so-called Experts would lead you to believe.

COMING SOON ...