Shaw you are having a rant!
1) Botham may be former cricketer but does that mean he can only talk rubbish? If so he is in fine company. How about Albert Einstein:"There is not the slightest indication that nuclear energy will ever be available.It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will(1932)
or Lord Kelvin:"X rays will prove to be a hoax(1883)
or Hiram Maxim on the role of the machine gun in war:"It will make war impossible)
2)It is also worth pointing out that nature(in the widest sense) has given rise to some major extinction events throuhout the geologic record
3)There is only one dangerous predator-you see it each time you look in a mirror.