How many of the following do you think are statements of demonstrable fact (or at the very least, are reasonably arguable):<\/p>\n
Humans are not<\/em> causing a \u201csixth mass extinction\u201d<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The Amazon is not<\/em> \u201cthe lungs of the world\u201d<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Climate change is not<\/em> making natural disasters worse<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Fires have declined <\/em>25% around the world since 2003<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The amount of land we use for meat \u2014 humankind\u2019s biggest use of land \u2014 has declined<\/em> by an area nearly as large as Alaska<\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n The build-up of wood fuel and more houses near forests, not<\/em> climate change, explain why there are more, and more dangerous, fires in Australia and California<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Carbon emissions are declining in most rich nations and have been declining in Britain, Germany, and France since the mid-1970s<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The Netherlands became rich not poor while adapting to life below sea level<\/p>\n<\/li>\n We produce 25% more food than we need and food surpluses will continue to rise as the world gets hotter<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Habitat loss and the direct killing of wild animals are bigger threats to species than climate change<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Wood fuel is far worse for people and wildlife than fossil fuels<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Preventing future pandemics requires more not less \u201cindustrial\u201d agriculture<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n They are set out in an\u00a0Environmental Progress\u00a0<\/em>post<\/a>\u00a0which is an extended\u00a0mea culpa<\/em>\u00a0by\u00a0Michael Shellenberger<\/a>\u00a0based on a new\u00a0book, Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All<\/em>.<\/a>\u00a0 The post began:\u00a0\"On behalf of environmentalists everywhere I would like to formally apologise for the climate scare we have created over the past 30 years. ...\".<\/p>\n