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Among the Intellectualoids
Are We ‘Rushing to Extinction’?
Shame on the California Academy of Sciences for abusing school children.
The California Academy of Sciences, located in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, is one of the finest natural history museums in the country. If you get the opportunity to go there, I urge you to do so. Unfortunately, not everything in the museum deserves to be called “science.”
The following statement is one of the informational posters that’s part of an area called “Climate Change.” It is like other such claims I’ve seen numerous times in similar venues over the past several years. The poster is titled, “Rushing to Extinction,” and has been part of the exhibit for at least two years that I know of.
Today, we are living through the sixth mass extinction of life in Earth’s history. This is due in part to climate change triggered by the carbon dioxide we pump into the air as we burn fossil fuels for energy. The resulting greenhouse gases are altering the biosphere, which is causing the loss of plants and animals around the world. If we don’t change our actions, we could condemn half of all species to extinction in a hundred years. That adds up to almost a million types of plants and animals that could disappear.
I urge you to read the statement again and consider what it says. Although the statement is extreme and sensationalistic, it is not unusual. It is typical of the conventional wisdom. It is ironic that it is found in what is called the California Academy of Sciences. It is reckless fear-mongering propaganda, not science. It cannot be substantiated and is a total distortion of reality.
For example, it is simply not true that “Today, we are living through the sixth mass extinction of life.” About 770 plants and animals have been identified as having gone extinct in the past 800 years. That’s about one per year. We are discovering far more species we did not know about than identifying extinctions.
The poster implies there are a total of two million species now existing. Biologists don’t actually know how many species there are. Educated guesses range between five million and fifty million.
Even if the total number of species is only two million, it means that if half go extinct in the next hundred years, the rate of extinction will have to increase from one each year to 10,000 each year. What’s the probability of such a massive change? How, specifically, is that going to happen?
Previous mass extinctions were the result of asteroids or ice ages. Have we had one of these lately that I didn’t hear about?
Is the statement defensible? It’s a statement made in a certain context, the Academy of Sciences. Apparently it’s an assertion that is supposed to be accepted based on authority. If you’re going to make such a cataclysmic prediction, shouldn’t you provide a little documentation and support? Is it supposes to be self-evident?
To this point “climate change” has not increased the rate of extinction. We definitely are not currently “living through the sixth mass extinction of life.” To say we will in the future is speculation, about which there is much disagreement, to put it mildly. There is definitely no “consensus.”
The poster is worded as if what it says is beyond dispute. The statements are not qualified in any way. I assume the designers of the exhibit intend for it to be taken seriously.
“If we don’t change our actions, we could condemn half of all species of life on earth today to extinction in a hundred years.” You can get away with about any outlandish prediction you want to make if you hide behind the word “could.” In the context of basic scientific protocol, any such statement should be presented in terms of probabilities as well as a discussion of the specific preconditions to such an event.
Judging from the numerous groups of children I see when I go there, the Academy of Sciences is possibly the most popular destination for Bay Area schools’ field trips. The statement, which is truly frightening if you believe it, is seen by hundreds of school children almost every day. What kind of impact do you think such statements have on young, impressionable minds? It verges on emotional child abuse. The Academy staff should be ashamed of themselves, but I doubt they are.
Environmentalists are so fanatical about their Armageddon beliefs that they think terrifying school children is justified. Do these people ever think about the implications of what they say? Do they care?
The purpose of the “Rushing to Extinction” poster and similar statements is to deliberately frighten whoever reads it. Environmentalists apparently get a perverse thrill from scaring people and making them feel guilty for being members of the human race. The California Academy of Sciences is allowing itself to be used as a venue for manipulative propaganda.
The natural world is fascinating and magical. The best way to illustrate that is to stick with the facts. It’s too bad natural history museums don’t do so.
About the Author
Ron Ross Ph.D. is an economist who lives in Arcata, California. He is the author of The Unbeatable Market. Reach him at rossecon@gmail.com.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (47) | Leave a comment
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Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 8.20.10 @ 7:29AM
The only thing rushing to extinction in our society is the truth.
Eric Cartman| 8.20.10 @ 8:37AM
Bravo!, Mr. O! Always thought a strategically placed Snuke going off in the heart of Frisco (they hate when you call it that) would focus the city's hamster abuser's minds on the real threat for at least a nanosecond. *Sigh* A boy can dream, can't he?
JmsA| 8.20.10 @ 11:34AM
Bill Hussein O'Stalin,
And freedom.
Ken (Old Texican)| 8.20.10 @ 7:33AM
Mr. Ross,
Good rant.
The problem is, too many children read and comment on this site.
Whatever you do, please don't tell them the truth about Santa Claus, here.
They have enough myths to outgrow.
c. j. acworth| 8.20.10 @ 6:26PM
Hey, what's this about Santa Claus?
martin j smith| 8.20.10 @ 7:51AM
The political thinking of too many in SF make me believe that THEY will be the cause of our --or at least their own extinction. In fantasy I wish SF would tectonically drift to Siberia and be part of Russia --then they can live out THEIR fantasies of living under a totalitarian government. But alas, not yet.
Louis Jenkins| 8.20.10 @ 8:30AM
"If you're going to make such a cataclysmic prediction, shouldn't you provide a little documentation and support?"
No documentation and support are needed. It is fact because a few climo-scientists is England dreamed it up, and Al Gore jumped on it to make millions. This entire ecospeak is a way to get the unruly masses in line, to pay their extra taxes, and be contented with living in a down economy. Let's call the poster what it is, "Hog Wash."
Denver Todd| 8.20.10 @ 8:48AM
There is always an overlap between science, politics, and religion in the most unlikely places. Just go to the zoo and see a sign that says "This species evolved over two million years..."
Petronius| 8.20.10 @ 9:47AM
Oh for a total tax revolt. Then the parasitic statists and all the idiots they whore for votes will become extinct. The more unrealistic the scam, the more the ignorant weenies believe it. I've never been to the Left coast. But the biggest allergy out there has to be cognitive thought.
David March| 8.20.10 @ 10:19AM
Is this the same Petronius of Jerry Pournelles website?
Just curious
Petronius| 8.20.10 @ 2:18PM
The only other place I post is the Rott.
Believer| 8.20.10 @ 5:37PM
Petronius- While I share your views on the left coast, I dont think its fair to single them out. Just a quick glance at our Nation as a whole and it seems cognitive thought is in short supply.
Appleby| 8.20.10 @ 11:58AM
Stephen Jay Gould opined in one of his books that 99% of everything that ever lived is extinct. Some of it, in fact massive amounts of it, had to go extinct so we could exist.
But remember, these are the same people who scream "Morbidly Obese Equals Death!" at children on one page, and wring their hands at the dramatic uptick in bulemia and anorexia among children five to eight years old on the opposite page.
They are the same people who screech that children need to go outside more lest they die of inertia, and in the next breath urge them to bundle up, wear big hats, and stay out of the sun lest they die of cancer.
I daresay most children have long ago stopped paying any attention to anything hysterical adults tell them.
Paul| 8.20.10 @ 12:19PM
Along the same lines, have any of you been to the zoo in Columbus, Ohio and seen the area near the monkey, etc. exhibit that has fuzzy graphics (for the children to see and learn) of the monkeys in coitus? The caption goes something like this - "Man makes war, monkeys make love and we should learn from that."
Pete| 8.20.10 @ 12:22PM
Was it at least clear that the picture includes a male and a female monkey? Doubt it.
Paul| 8.20.10 @ 12:28PM
Excellent question. I was so stunned that I didn't think to take several photos. Can someone take some pics and post them on the internet?
Pete| 8.20.10 @ 12:33PM
I am not sure which species of monkey/ape the documentary I watched some time ago was about, but I am pretty sure it involved rival groups killing and eating each other's young if one group infringed on the other's territory. Sounds a bit like war, eh?
Jerry| 8.21.10 @ 4:43AM
Chimps will hunt and kill other chimps. On the other hand, bonobos (a primate with an appearance similar to chimps ) have behavior that might aptly be described as "make love, not war." (See the recent book "Bonobo Handshake.")
Pete| 8.20.10 @ 12:20PM
Pure BS propaganda. It really is everywhere these days. At Denver Airport, there were recently (and may still be) billboards and TVs playing video furthering this outrageous scam. No wonder the US scores so low in math and science if this is considered science nowadays.
Ray| 8.20.10 @ 12:42PM
IF a mass extinction is occurring, why should anyone try to stop it? After all, when it comes to life on earth, extinction is the norm, species survival is secondary. I though these people accepted nature and want to live with it? Well, if nature want's you extinct, there's nothing you can do about it! Just as the dinosaurs about that.
Earl_E| 8.20.10 @ 1:01PM
When I read the statement, it wasn't fear that hit me, it was curiosity. I wonder why so many people equate new information and ideas as fear mongering?
There have been many extiction events in the past, there will be many more to come.
It doesn't make me fear anything. What I fear are the effects of mindless consumption of finite resources as well as the poisoning of our air, soil and water.
LiveFreeOrDie| 8.23.10 @ 2:35PM
I fear the same as you, however, I notice all environmental plundering and polluting go ignored under the AGW scam because it's most important to save the entire planet than one river, one lake or one forest.
michigander_sandusky| 8.20.10 @ 1:33PM
Idiot dunderheads raising little idiot dunderheads.
Earl_E| 8.20.10 @ 1:58PM
Ray asks why would we want to stop a mass extinction?
I am still raising my 4 children so that is why. Having kids makes people do irrational things like prepare for tomorrow.
Pete,
The summary of several scientific pursuits into one paragraph is hardly accurate. Linking it's existance to lower math scores defies logic.
Appleby, our military presence in Iraq is directly linked to tens of thousands of deaths, many defenseless women and children.
Why should it surprise us that burning that oil may come back to haunt us in ways we have yet discovered?
Bohred| 8.20.10 @ 6:01PM
Because I want to drive my car. As you do.
Reality is, we don't know what the future intends. We do know this; -5 degrees mean Chicago under a mile of ice, and starvation throughout the globe. +5 degrees means crops thrive, ice melts, and the world becomes a warm Eden.
Even if it's not true, I'll take Global Warming thank you.
Appleby| 8.20.10 @ 2:06PM
Earl: Meanwhile in the USA tens of thousands of black kids are exterminating one another, either by abortion or by gunfire and drugs, and apparently this is looked on as a cultural thing in which we have no right to meddle.
Have you been to Iraq and seen firsthand any of this extermination -- and are you aware that some of these people posing as defenceless women and children are in fact responsible for the deaths of Americans?
If anything comes back to haunt me in ways I have yet discovered, I will figure that lapse in coherence means I have sunstroke and should go inside and drink iced tea until I feel better.
joli| 8.20.10 @ 8:02PM
LOL!
Lynne| 8.20.10 @ 2:51PM
Social Darwinism and eugenics theory were pitched to the public as science and lead to the bloodiest century known to mankind. Educators, and authorities don't actually want the public to begin to think for themselves. They want agreement and compliance (remember how you made your grades) We must make our kids aware that educators are highly prone to erroneous thought, because of the modern educational process and most especially because propeller heads need more pats on the head with "ata'boys",(than say, the general public does) which is why we now have scientific agreement and limited academic debate and academic free speech.
fantum| 8.20.10 @ 3:45PM
House Bill HR4530 is disguised as a "School Non-Discrimination Bill." Who could possibly be against "non-discrimination," right?
The main drive behind HR4530 is to FORCE SCHOOLS (K-12) TO TEACH children about ALL forms of PERVERTED AND DEVIANT SEXUAL BEHAVIOR. Parents will NOT be able to "discriminate" or "opt out" their children. PARENTS WILL HAVE NO RECOURSE!
Dig around a little, check out who introduced the bill. Check some of the NAMBLA and GLSEN "school" books they want to introduce to the kiddies.
HR4530 - Democrats are Pushing Sexual Perversion...
http://usataxpayer.org/?0092081630
THE CORRUPTION AND DEPRAVITY OF OUR CURRENT GOVERNMENT IS UNBELIEVABLE!
Hear for yourself the gruesome details of homosexual activists teaching public school children. "Fisting!", "Spit or swallow?", WARNING: THIS PAGE IS LINKED TO DISGUSTING AND DEVIANT VIDEOS.
Think your children are safe in school?
http://usataxpayer.org/?0039156365
Believer| 8.20.10 @ 5:51PM
Fantum- Your comments are right on, If your a Christain or Jewish parent do the right thing and get your kids out of public school.
Earl_e| 8.20.10 @ 3:56PM
Appleby,
Why would you say "Black kids" as if "White Kids" weren't doing the same thing. Chrystal meth is dragging down middle-America as fast as crack is undoing the inner-city.
My ship escorted re-flagged Kuwaiti oil tanker's in and out of the Persian Gulf while "I" served in the military on my second hitch.
Maybe if we weren't using our tax dollars to bail out Kuwaiti oil we could afford some police and medical support for the drug addicted growing cancer within our own borders.
We are so quick to say women and children are killing us from the hills of Iraq, and willing to shred trillions of dollars to keep the black oil flowing.
Exactly the same comparison can be made that drugs and inner city crime are as oil and international invasion, occupation, and theft of these third world caches of oil.
We use tax dollars to steal oil from ignorant desert folks and in the same breath complain about deficit spending for pre-natal care(which helps reduce abortions through education).
So much bashing of propeller-heads, those scientists who took us to the moon and put that PC at your fingertips.
Padoux| 8.20.10 @ 4:31PM
You mean we steal oil, get it for free? Where is it? Gas is still expensive. As to the police last time I checked they need oil and gas to operate their vehicles, as do doctors. The drug problems here predate any war and just spending money on those problems won't change human behavior and the fact that a huge portion of babies are born to single mothers, that's the problem, not foreign policy. We spend more on ever expanding social programs than ever to what result?
Texas Mom| 8.21.10 @ 7:42AM
We could drill here... We have plenty of oil in ANWAR and the Mid-West not to mention off both coasts. But enviro-whackos would rather put ridiculous windmills all over west Texas that produce little to no energy at night. Dang Ugly and way more invasive to the views out in West Texas than Oil wells would ever be.
Padoux| 8.20.10 @ 4:24PM
The idiots who put out such nonsense seemingly would be happy if ONE species would become extinct, homo sapiens, then all the other species we are killing would flourish. The only problem is that there would be no self-aware beings left to enjoy or observe this paradise.
Earl_E| 8.20.10 @ 4:31PM
Padoux,
The reason why intelligence created science was to preserve intelligence.
How is it that you know what an elephant or dolphin is aware of?
Marc Jeric| 8.20.10 @ 4:32PM
Those San Francisco "scientists" have all voted for La Pelosi (who married into a Cleveland mafia family), and for Abu Hussein al-Mombassa (or wherever in Kenya that marxist Muslim was born).
The conspiracy started way back in the 1970's with the global cooling scam; then it continued with the global warming hoax in the 1990's; after that came the climate change flimflam in the 2000's; and now we are faced with the cap ?& trade power grab. All committed by the same government-paid drones, most of whom are rejects of private enterprise. We must hope that their crimes against science will one day be properly punished.
Earl_E| 8.20.10 @ 4:39PM
Padoux,
We topple dictators and replace them with puppets so we can appear to have an agreement to remove the oil.
It costs trillions in weapons and boots on the ground, and after all that blood and treasure, we still have to pay for the gas so big-oil can payoff the government officials it needs to keep the military support.
The reason why the police need gas is because the energy market was socialized in the 1950s by oil.
If oil companies had to pay for security like Banks pay for Brinks armored trucks, gas would have become so expensive the free market would have replaced gas combustion 50 years ago.
The human race teeters on the brink of social collapse because of centralized energy and food production.
If you grow 6 billion people who cannot feed themselves, you risk losing it all just from some small climate hiccup.
Pete| 8.20.10 @ 6:23PM
Holy crap, is this what the environuts are peddling these days?
Yosemeti Sam| 8.21.10 @ 1:43AM
Along with climate Globaloney mentions in museums will soon be dioramas of extinct creatures known as species Homo Erectus Jerkus Perfectus - aka Democrats.
Believer| 8.21.10 @ 6:28PM
Climate change isnt the only thing science has gotten wrong, They ( Science ) has made a history of preposterous claims and teaching them as truth. And then when evidence shows otherwise they refuse to remove it from school textbooks, so if any one is surprised by scientific statements like this article, shame on us.
darrin| 8.22.10 @ 10:17PM
I visited this museum yesterday. It was an enjoyable time except when I ran across this absurdity about "climate change" and "carbon footprints." The lies these people spew will never end. All we can do is educate ourselves about this deception and get very vocal about it. Enough, already!!
Rich Rostrom| 8.23.10 @ 1:26AM
The "sixth great extinction" is real - not even seriously disputed among biologists. It is the result of humans spreading invasive species around the world, exposing geographically isolated niche species to competition, or to novel parasites and diseases. Most of the extinctions are among obscure invertebrates - insects, worms, and such - or among plants.
"Global warming" has nothing to do with it. Also, it started over 100 years ago.
Michele San Pietro| 8.24.10 @ 5:58PM
No, we are not rushing to extinction. Those theories are just a load of nonsense.
dw| 8.31.10 @ 12:42PM
It is a scientific fact that if we all become exclusively homosexual we will become extinct.
Joanna | 6.6.11 @ 4:40AM
What an interesting article- I hope to read more like this, thanks!UTI Treatment