Introduction

Today’s climate, with 420 ppm CO₂ (0.042%) and 1°C warming since 1850, is mild compared to the Miocene’s vibrant world fourteen million years ago. Nature remains strong, with corals, animals, and forests adapting to changes. Yet, some claim CO₂ drives a crisis, exaggerating its role while ignoring bigger issues like land clearing. Using clear data, I’ll show why today’s climate is no threat, focusing on nature’s resilience and real challenges we can fix. This builds on the Miocene’s lessons, with more in my next pages.

Key Terms

Ecosystem Resilience: Ability of nature, like forests or corals, to adapt to changes such as warming (IPBES, 2019).

Hectares: Land unit; 1 hectare = ~2.47 acres; 178 million hectares = ~440 million acres (FAO, 2020).

Acres: Land unit; 440 million acres = ~178 million hectares, about 1.5 times U.S. land area (FAO, 2020).

CO₂ Alarmism: Exaggerated claims that CO₂ causes massive environmental harm (IPCC, 2018).

View from Flag Rock Norton, Virginia.

View from Flag Rock Norton, Virginia.

Nature Adapts to Today’s Climate

Today’s Earth has 420 ppm CO₂ (0.042%), up from ~280 ppm in 1850, and is 1°C warmer, about 11°C globally (NOAA, 2023; HadCRUT5). This is milder than the Miocene’s 400-600 ppm (0.04-0.06%) and 4-6°C warmer climate. Ecosystems are resilient. Bikini Lagoon corals maintain ~50-70% cover despite radiation and oil spills, adapting to stress (Richards et al., 2008). In the Alps and Andes, animals and plants shift ranges ~10-20 km to cooler areas, keeping high species numbers (IPBES, 2019).

Animals and Forests Thrive

Rodents, like rats and mice, number ~10-20 billion globally, thriving in disturbed areas (Singleton et al., 2005). My Appalachian forest swapped locust trees for hardwoods, a ~30-40% change, showing nature adjusts (USDA Forest Service, 2020). Biodiversity—the number of differing species—is hard to measure since ~8.7 million species are estimated, but only ~150,000 are known (Mora et al., 2011). No mass die-offs occur today, unlike alarmist claims. Nature’s strength mirrors the Miocene’s diverse ecosystems, proving resilience in mild conditions.

CO₂’s Role Is Overstated

Some say CO₂ at 420 ppm (0.042%) threatens countless species (IPCC, 2018), but it adds only ~10-20% to nature’s stress, like coral stress (NOAA, 2023). Land clearing is worse—~178 million hectares (~440 million acres) of forest lost since 1990, about 1.5 times the U.S. land area (FAO, 2020). However, CO₂ fertilization boosts plant growth ~10-20% and crop yields ~15-30%, like wheat and rice (Ainsworth & Long, 2005). Treelines move north, as in the Holocene Climate Optimum (~8,000-5,000 years ago, ~1-2°C warmer), forming new forests in Canada and Siberia, adding species diversity (MacDonald et al., 2008). While some habitats shrink, others expand, unlike alarmist “crisis” claims. Farming covers ~38% of land, harming species more than CO₂ (IPBES, 2019). Alarmists hype CO₂ while ignoring fixable issues like land use, which my later pages tackle.

Plato thinking.

Conclusion

Today’s mild climate—420 ppm CO₂ (0.042%) and 1°C warmer—supports resilient ecosystems, from Bikini corals to Appalachian forests and billions of rodents. CO₂ fertilization expands habitats, like northern treelines, boosting biodiversity. CO₂’s role is small compared to land clearing’s impact, like ~178 million hectares (~440 million acres) of forest loss. The Miocene showed nature thrives with more CO₂; today’s no crisis either. My next page (a15.htm) questions alarmist claims further, digging into their shaky data.

References

Evidence based Earth Science

Modern resilient ecosystem, such as thriving corals or northern treeline forests