A retired University of Arizona professor said the human race is heading toward a sixth mass extinction event, and it’s right around the corner. Guy McPherson, a biologist and professor emeritus of natural resources and ecology, believes humanity is basically a suicidal bunch and that we are destroying our planet through increased greenhouse gas emissions, a key factor in the theory of climate change.
Most human-caused greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide (CO2), are created when fossil fuels are combusted.
Despite CO2 constituting only 0.04 percent of all atmospheric gases, it has been demonized as an evil trace gas that causes droughts, floods, more storms, fewer storms, illnesses, and death. In reality, CO2 is a harmless, odorless, colorless gas essential to all life on Earth.
An Essential Trace Gas
Absorbed by nearly all vegetation and microbes, CO2 is the reason life on the planet continues. Without it, plants would wither and die, and the environment would collapse.
Simply put, CO2 is an essential atmospheric gas that, before the Industrial Revolution, made up roughly 280 parts per million or 0.028 percent of the atmosphere.
But McPherson believes the extra 0.012 percent of CO2 since 1850 is heating up the Earth, and we’ve passed the point of no return. Scientists attribute 30 percent of all CO2 produced to man-made sources.
McPherson said we should stop worrying about the climate and just accept the inevitability of our demise. He predicted it would happen in 10 or 100 years. The planet, he said, is going to heat up to a temperature not seen in two billion years. McPherson wants the world to stop trying to “fix” the climate and instead enjoy whatever time is left.
The ‘Apocalyptic Ecologist’
McPherson also said giving people false hope about a better future is a bad idea and calls such talk “wishful thinking.” Rather, he said, people should chase after things that make them happy and try to find love and happiness.
McPherson had previously coined the phrase Near Term Extinction (NTE) when he postulated the likelihood of human extinction by 2030. He also has a radio show and blog called “Nature Bats Last” that focuses on global warming and the prospect of mass extinction from greenhouse gases. He was even interviewed by climate alarmist Bill Nye on “National Geographic Explorer” in 2015.
Andrew Revkin of the “NY Times” said McPherson’s NTE views were built for an “‘End of Days’ following” and called the professor an “apocalyptic ecologist.”
Climatologist Michael Tobis of the University of Wisconsin said McPherson was speaking of things beyond the scope of his knowledge and called him a “denialist, albeit of a different stripe.”
Warming Stalled
Whether McPherson will be proven right could actually take thousands or even millions of years, noting that global warming is currently stalled.
Satellite measurements of net temperatures over the last 20 years show the global climate to be unchanged, which suggests that McPherson’s catastrophic conclusions will have to wait longer than he might expect.
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