Yesterday The Washington Examiner posted an article about a recent statement by Patrick Moore, a Canadian environmentalist who previously served as president of Greenpeace Canada and director of Greenpeace International.

The article reports:

Polar bears would not exist today without climate change, and they may even be thriving because of current climate trends. That’s what the co-founder of Greenpeace (Patrick Moore) told scientists, economists, and academics who took part in an international conference challenging alarmist claims about global warming.

…During his talk, Moore described some of the events that helped gain notoriety for Greenpeace, such as the campaigns directed against nuclear testing and whale hunting dating back to the 1970s. He eventually felt compelled to leave Greenpeace when activists began to lose sight of their humanitarian mission while engaging in campaigns that were not rooted in sound science, he explained.

“At a philosophical level, Greenpeace had started with a strong humanitarian orientation to save human civilization from nuclear war,” Moore said. “That meant we actually liked people. That’s the peace in Greenpeace. The green, of course, was the environment. … I decided to fashion myself a sensible environmentalist basing my positions on science and logic rather than sensationalism, misinformation, and fear.”

The article concludes:

Moore also suggested there is good reason to view contemporary climate conditions as beneficial to polar bears. That’s because the reduction in sea ice during the summer months enables the sun to shine through the opening in the ocean in a manner that is beneficial to the marine life that supports the polar bear population, he said.

While commenting on energy policy, Moore called for the development of more nuclear power plants to help reduce fossil fuel use. He estimated that there are about 440 plants worldwide, but he would like to see something in the neighborhood of 4,000. Moore said he favors reducing fossil fuel use not because of carbon dioxide emissions, which he views as beneficial, but because fossil fuels should be conserved for energy needs that only those energy sources can supply.

“Fossil fuels are the most important energy for making civilization,” Moore said. In fact, he added, fossil fuels are “causing us to live longer and live better.”

It is interesting that Moore currently is a director for the CO2 Coalition, a nonprofit group that includes scientists devoted to highlighting the benefits of carbon dioxide. He has written a book titled Fake Invisible Catastrophes and Threats of Doom. I suspect his return to actual science has not been well received by those at Greenpeace.