The Antarctic Ecosystem—Reasons for Optimism: Contrary to the nonstop gloom and doom from the left, not only are things going well, but simple fixes would make them even better

American Thinker ^ | 12/30/2022 | Scott Sturman

[SeekAndFind]

We’re warned that Antarctica’s adjoining Southern Ocean is caught in an irreversible descending spiral, where life is scarce and on the verge of collapse. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the choice is clear: Radically reduce fossil fuels over an aggressive timeline or be complicit in the planet’s destruction. This distortion and selective manipulation of data and its use of public shaming are the tools of inquisitions, not rational scientific inquiry.

Contrary to the incessant media barrage that predicts Antarctica’s demise, my personal experience during a three-week visit in November to the Falkland Islands, South Georgia Island, and the Antarctic Peninsula reveals a different and more optimistic story. The beaches and ocean are teeming with life as hundreds of thousands of penguins, seals, and pelagic birds compete for space on the crowded shorelines during this breeding season.

Visitors to the Antarctic region generally express a passion for wildlife and a religious-like devotion to the environment. Whatever the cost and sacrifice, something, anything must be done to avoid the catastrophe that they have been led to believe is inevitable. Spending trillions of dollars that disproportionately affect the world’s poor for no proven climatic benefit is justified as long as the intent is noble. It is not uncommon to hear the nihilistic claim that humans are inherently evil, exclusively responsible for defiling the planet, and deserve punishment.

Trusting one’s personal observations and basing judgments on the cyclical nature of climate, the historical events that provoked the decimation of marine animal life, and a few basic principles of physics would do much to allay apprehensions and develop more practical solutions to an overly political debate.   

Image: Falkland Island penguins by Ben Tubby. CC BY 2.0.

[SeekAndFind]

The abundance of birds, mammals, and fish is not possible without a robust food chain to support complex orders of life, and the foundation of the system begins with phytoplankton, a microalgae that depend on adequate sunlight, nutrients, and carbon dioxide. Without a plentiful source of phytoplankton, the Southern Ocean ecosystem would collapse, and yet today, it is thriving. Increased atmospheric CO2, now at 400 parts per million, has contributed to a remarkable greening of the planet in terms of increased agricultural output and expansion of plant species.

[BipolarBob]

Simple fixes like destroying 90% of all mankind and leaving just enough to grow food and tend to the global elite.

No, I haven't read the article . . . . yet.

[The Sons of Liberty]

I’d love to see algore and Greta Thuneberg go up to Buffalo and lecture on Globull Warming.

[HighSierra5]

The Earth is gigantic. We are puny humans no matter how much the Left tries to PRETEND we’re not. God is the ultimate controller.

[FlingWingFlyer]

A good place to start would be to ban all retarded “envirotourists” from farting around Antarctica watching the penguins. Instead, send the idiots to a zoo if they want to see penguins.

[butlerweave]

Penguins On Parade

[EEGator]

There is a greater mass of termites on Earth than humans.
That’s just one insect.

What is the correct global temperature?
What is the correct amount of atmospheric CO2?
What is the correct amount of radiation from space?
What is the correct amount of Earth’s magnetic field?
Etc.

[bigbob]

I’d rather send them to Antarctica.

[PGR88]

Marxists love to “fix” stuff - the bigger and the more absurd, the more they love to force people into their schemes.

[Natty Bumppo@frontier.net]

Water vapor comprises 95% of the “greenhouse” gases in the earth’s atmosphere. All human activity accounts for 0.0001% of water vapor in the earth’s atmosphere.

Carbon Dioxide comprises 3.618% of “greenhouse” gases in the earth’s atmosphere. All human activity accounts for 0.116% of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere.

All other gases (Methane, Nitrous Oxide, CFCs, etc) account for 1.382% of “greenhouse” gases. All human activity accounts for 0.16% of these gases in the earth’s atmosphere.

Total contribution of all human activity to “greenhouse gases” is 0.28%.

The mass of all life on earth is 560 billion metric tons, or 9.33 x 10^-9% of the earth’s mass.

The mass of all humans on earth is 0.350 billion metric tons, or 5.83 x 10^-12% of the earth’s mass, or 0.0625% of the mass of all life on earth.

In terms of earth’s climate, all life is round off error, and human life is the decimal dust of the round off error.

The climate of earth is a function of solar irradiance, and geologic activity (including radioactive decay, volcanoes, movement of the tectonic plates, earthquakes, etc.)

[rdcbn1]

The Netherlands are banning fishing and farming to save the world. The surface area of the Netherlands is around 13,000 sq miles and the surface area of the Earth is a nominal 196,900,000 square miles. Anyone see a flaw in this logic?

[BipolarBob]

Termites are a significant source of methane and CO2.

[EEGator]

And yet this is never discussed.

[EEGator]

It’s pretty cool how ants and termites build their homes.