Humans Almost Were/Are Extinct

The AP story about humans and their past near-extinction by Randolph E. Schmid has made the rounds of most media outlets but has created surprisingly little comment.

It's a fascinating story. Schmid tells us that "an extensive genetic study suggests" that we human folks were almost extinguished about 70,000 years ago. A separate study by researchers at Stanford University estimates that the number of human beings may have dropped to 2,000 before an expansion began in the early Stone Age.

The reason for this was a "climatological shift," brought on by a number of severe droughts in Eastern Africa.

It's all pretty dramatic. Spencer Wells, of the National Geographic Society noted how the study showed "the extraordinary power of genetics to reveal insights into some of the key events in our species' history. Tiny bands of early humans, forced apart by harsh environmental conditions, coming back from the brink to reunite and populate the world. Truly an epic drama, written in our DNA."

"Who would have thought," asks Paleontologist Meave Leakey, "that as recently as 70,000 years ago, extremes of climate had reduced our population to such small numbers that we were on the very edge of extinction"?

Not I.

Makes me wonder about the future, though, as scientists are predicting that we will see many more severe droughts around the world, the result of climate change.

Just four years ago, a noted researcher from New Zealand warned that "humans face extinction by the end of the century."

Professor Peter Barrett, the director of Victoria University's Antarctic Research Centre, said "After 40 years, I'm part of a huge community of scientists who have become alarmed with our discovery, that we know from our knowledge of the ancient past, that if we continue our present growth path, we are facing extinction.

"Not in millions of years, or even millennia, but by the end of this century." [My emphasis]

The problem, quite simply, is global warming. In 2004, Professor Barret concluded that the increase in global temperature was already then responsible for "increased storminess, loss of species, spread of deserts, and tropical diseases, and disturbed ecological balance from excess CO2, an example being the Amazon rain forest."

Lest you think this is just one mad scientist raving: "The scientific basis for the earth's climate warming beyond the variations of the last 1,000 years is set out in the assessment reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change..."

The IPCC includes the elite of the elite and involves over 1,000 climate scientists from over 100 countries "and has based its ... reports ... solely on data from peer-reviewed scientific publications. It reaches its conclusions by debate and consensus, noting the level of uncertainty in its key statements. It is therefore the most authoritative source of information on earth on global warming."

So, friends and neighbors, what has the IPCC discovered? By the end of this century, the average global temperature will increase substantially, perhaps by as much as 3.4 degrees centigrade. But another study, more recent, has upped that figure to about 4 degrees centigrade!

"This represents a huge shift in climate - the earth last had this temperature ... around 35 million years ago, before big ice sheets formed on Antarctica."


However, the latest studies show that the changes are occurring more rapidly than anyone expected! The Arctic is warming faster than predicted and this means the acidity of the oceans is increasing and that means sea-life will be imperiled. Furthermore, the west Antarctic ice streams have begun to speed up, which increases the rise of sea levels.

Scientists have further discovered a "Runaway release of gigatonnes of methane from the huge reservoir of solid methane hydrate beneath the ocean floor (and this has triggered super-warmings in the ancient past)."

Plus, there are again sudden "lurches in temperature in the North Atlantic region, which in the prehistoric past have dropped temperatures in Western Europe and the east coast of North America by 6 degrees centigrade in a few years.


Global warming caused by greenhouse gasses is increasing more rapidly than scientists predicted even a few years ago. Unfortunately, the warning in 2004 by the finest group of climate scientists in the world, the IPCC, that human life could become extinct by the end of this century has been all but ignored by the only groups that can do anything about it - the nations of the world.

We don't have much time, and the problem is growing exponentially. That means the most important question for any candidate running for president of the United States to answer is this:

"In light of the warning that global warming may actually cause the human race to become extinct in less than 100 years, what do you plan to do about it?"