Of course, that didn't happen. In 1994, the World Conservation Union found known extinctions since 1600 to include only 258 animal species, 368 insect species and 384 vascular plants. Since the establishment of an endangered species list in the 1960s, only seven species have been declared extinct in the U.S.: four freshwater fish, a freshwater clam and two small birds. We mourn for them all, of course, including the clam, but we mourn all the more for the people duped by appalling scare tactics like those of Mr. Myers. Mr. Crichton gets the scare-mongers exactly right throughout "State of Fear."
Excellent book, BTW. I highly recommend it, especially for the bibliography and references.
I read it on vacation last week. I hate mass-market writing but I could overlook it for this one. It was a fun read and it's worth a spot on the bookshelf just for the references.