James D Agresti | President | Facts only
Unlike 60 Minutes, the facts are overwhelming that the Earth is not in the midst of an “extinction crisis.”
SOURCES:
On 1/1/23, 60 Minutes reported: “A study by the World Wildlife Fund says that over the past 50 years, global wildlife wealth has collapsed by 69%.” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/earth-mass -extinction-60-minutes-2023-01-01/
The World Wildlife Fund study cited by 60 Minutes is based on its Living Planet Index.
https://wwflpr.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/lpr_2022_full_report.pdf#page=18
Scholars in scholarly journals have documented that the Living Planet Index (LPI) “does not measure abundance.” However, the World Wildlife Fund claims it does so and receives “high media coverage” which makes the “common mistake of interpreting the LPI as a measurement of wealth loss”.
https://leung-lab.github.io/leunglab/articles/Leung_2022_601a.pdf
https://wwflpr.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/lpr_2022_full_report.pdf#page=18
The claim that the Living Planet Index shows an “average decline in vertebrates of more than 50% since 1970” is “driven by less than 3% of vertebrate populations,” while “no global trend remained in typical populations.” https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2920-6
A study using the world’s largest database of long-term species occurrence found: “Most populations (85%) did not show significant trends in abundance, and those that did were divided between winners (8%) and losers (7%). ) balanced.” https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ele.13242
The number “up to 100 times” from Barnosky’s research “actually varied between 8 and 100 times”. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.1400253
A Cambridge University Press book on biodiversity states that no “serious” attempt has been made to “assess” the “reliability” of extinction rates from fossils, as the “uncertainties at each stage of the calculation” would render the effort worthless. As the book states: “Probably nobody will be surprised if this estimate differs by a factor of 10 or even 100.” https://www.amazon.com/Biodiversity-Environmental-Philosophy-Introduction-Cambridge-ebook/dp /B000SHMQES
Barnosky’s research counts all “617” vertebral species that have become extinct or “possibly extinct” since 1500. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.1400253
A scholarly journal documents that 95% of bird and mammal deaths since 1500 “happened on islands.” Therefore, “it makes sense to consider islands as a special case” because species have “smaller geographic ranges” and other differences that make them more vulnerable to extinction than continental species. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1472-4642.2011.00856.x
According to the textbook Conservation and Ecology, “estimates of background extinction rates” of fossils “derive from the abundant and widespread species that dominate the fossil record. In contrast, the species most likely to become extinct today are rare and local.” https://www.amazon.com/Conservation-Ecology-Living-Earth-Rafferty/dp/1615303073
According to the textbook Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution, “A particularly important trend in the fossil record is expressed towards organisms that are rare and/or geographically limited.” https://www.amazon.com/Vertebrate-Paleontology-Evolution-Robert-Carroll /dp/0716718227
A 2011 article in the journal Diversity and Distributions revealed that “since 1500, only six continental birds and three continental mammals have been recorded as extinct in standard databases, compared with 123 bird species and 58 island mammal species.” https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1472-4642.2011.00856.x
A 2015 article in the journal Science revealed that there have been “only 15 global marine species extinctions in the last 514 years” and “none in the last five decades”. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1255641
An article in the journal Endangered Species Research by an Australian scientist states that certain scientists “exaggerate the risk of wildlife extinction” using “deliberate and gross” exaggerations. The paper also notes that scientists who designate species as “Vulnerable” are “frequent beneficiaries” of the funding that flows as a result of this designation. “The potential for selfish assessments has long been recognized.” http://www.int-res.com/articles/esr2008/6/n006p161.pdf
The scientists, who authored the paper in the journal Diversity and Distributions, state: “Our results do not support statements or predictions by others about greatly increased rates of extinction for continental bird and mammal fauna over the past 500 years compared to background rates.” https ://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1472-4642.2011.00856.x
In 1977, President Jimmy Carter commissioned the EPA, the State Department, the National Science Foundation, and several other federal agencies to conduct a “Study of Likely Changes” in “the World’s Population, Natural Resources, and Environment” by the Year 2000. This became a Herculean task involving hundreds of people, including “informal advisers” to the study, representing the world’s leading environmental institutions. https://www.justfacts.com/document/global_2000_report_president_carter_1979.pdf#page=4
In 1979, the Dream Team of Scientists published the Global 2000 Report to the President of the United States, which stated that “at least 500,000-600,000” species “will be wiped out during the next two decades” amid “continuous technological advances” and “no deviations from the present.” public order.” https://www.justfacts.com/document/global_2000_report_president_carter_1979.pdf#page=357
In 2004, the International Union for Conservation of Nature reported: “At least 27 species have been recorded as extinct or extinct in the wild in the last 20 years (1984–2004). … For example, eight species of birds are believed to have become extinct or extinct in the wild in the last 20 years, but they are not included as more research is needed to prove the last individual has died.” https:// portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/RL-2004-001.pdf
The Global 2000 Report to the President of the United States states: “How many species are extinct according to the Global 2000 forestry projections? An estimate was prepared for the Global 2000 study by Thomas E. Lovejoy of the World Wildlife Fund.” https://www.justfacts.com/document/global_2000_report_president_carter_1979.pdf#page=353
CBS’ 60-minute footage is reproduced under the United States Copyright Act’s fair use provision for “purposes such as criticism” and “comment” (17 USC §107). https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/107Show less
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