Solution to climate change extinctions: Move animals
Orangutangs in Chicago! Zebras in Alaska!
In one of the most wrong-headed non-solutions to come along in a while, a report in the journal Nature suggests that we might save some species of animals from climate change extinction by moving them to areas newly suited to their needs.
The idea is that if one part of the world gets a litlle too warm or wet, send the species that can't handle their new environment to places where climate change has made things more hospitable. An example given is the rare Iberian lynx, native to Spain, which might thrive in a future warmer Scotland.
While the idea has some surface appeal, it doesn't seem to consider in fullness the potential impact of deliberately introducing new species into existinng eco-systems, a practice which has add disastrous consequences in the past (rabbits in Australia, anyone?). Besides that, it doesn't address the larger problem of habitat loss due not to climate change, but the building of housing developments and strip malls on once-pristine land. It doesn't matter what country an animal is moved to if the only place to live is the dumpster out back of the Burger King.
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