The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World | Bjorn Lomborg

The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World | Bjorn Lomborg | Whether Right or Wrong, An Honest Attempt

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The Skeptical Envi...

	The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World Bjorn Lomborg Cambridge University Press, 2001 - 540 pages average customer review:based on 330 reviews view larger image
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Bjørn Lomborg, a former member of Greenpeace, challenges widely held beliefs that the world environmental situation is getting worse and worse in his new book, The Skeptical Environmentalist. Using statistical information from internationally recognized research institutes, Lomborg systematically examines a range of major environmental issues that feature prominently in headline news around the world, including pollution, biodiversity, fear of chemicals, and the greenhouse effect, and documents that the world has actually improved. He supports his arguments with over 2500 footnotes, allowing readers to check his sources. Lomborg criticizes the way many environmental organizations make selective and misleading use of scientific evidence and argues that we are making decisions about the use of our limited resources based on inaccurate or incomplete information. Concluding that there are more reasons for optimism than pessimism, he stresses the need for clear-headed prioritization of resources to tackle real, not imagined, problems. The Skeptical Environmentalist offers readers a non-partisan evaluation that serves as a useful corrective to the more alarmist accounts favored by campaign groups and the media. Bjørn Lomborg is an associate professor of statistics in the Department of Political Science at the University of Aarhus. When he started to investigate the statistics behind the current gloomy view of the environment, he was genuinely surprised. He published four lengthy articles in the leading Danish newspaper, including statistics documenting an ever-improving world, and unleashed the biggest post-war debate with more than 400 articles in all the major papers. Since then, Lomborg has been a frequent participant in the European debate on environmentalism on television, radio, and in newspapers.

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The Most Thoughtful Book on the Environment in Print

The Skeptical Environmentalist is a wonderful book. In today's environmental debates, this is a work without peer. Nowhere else can a person obtain a truly focused and non-biased view (at least as non-biased as a person can be) on the future of our planet and how to meet its problems.

The author is a scientist who specializes not just in environmental matters but statistical research. His mathematical background shows at every step in the book. First of all, he is highly organized. There is never a doubt of where he is at or where the author is going with his thoughts. Nothing is confusing here. Next, the author is thorough in his research and his presentation. He considers every nuisance of the problem and approaches the matter with exactness.

This is a true man of science trying to show the reader how science, true science, approaches problems and works out solutions. Even if one isn't interested in the environment, if there is an interest in science, this book will show how science must work, and how it must NOT work, if there is to be thoughtful progress in the world through science.

If you are wondering what the environmental debate should sound like you must read this book. If you are wondering what the facts are behind the various environmental problems facing the world today you must read this book. If you are looking for reasonable solutions to many of the environmental problems facing humanity today you must read this book.

In short, if you care about science or the environment - read this book!

AD2

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Whether Right or Wrong, An Honest Attempt

This is the kind of book about which everyone is guaranteed to have a strong opinion.

By "everyone" I also mean to include those who have not ever read it. There will be those, hostile to the environmentalist movement, who will take the book's very existence as proof that there's no cause for any alarm (and maybe that there is no such thing as Global Warming). There will also be those, sympathetic to the environmentalist movement, who will not trouble themselves to read Lomborg's material, but will instead scour the web to find and then recite "refutations" of Lomborg's claims. To that person, it will count as a complete "refutation" if a climatologist somewhere (who may or may not have read the book himself) says that the book has made an error in one of its hundreds of references.

Actual readers of the book, who will undoubtedly feel strongly about it too (one way or the other), will at least know that Lomborg treats the matters of discussion fairly, and with integrity. I am sure that there are parts in which he errs -- I think Lomborg would easily agree to that, too -- but it is clear from both his tone and also the exhaustive and impressive depth of his research and presentation that his errors are honestly made.

Libertarians looking to adopt the work ought to know that Lomborg does not say that there is no Global Warming. Rather, he concedes that point, and points out that there are often negative consequences to problems in our environment, including Global Warming. Instead, Lomborg intends to measure the scope of these problems via scientific data, and compare their projected costs against the costs of taking other measures to combat them. He also makes the claim that, in general, things are actually getting better in the world, not worse. He does so step by step, issue by issue, datum by datum. We might be uncomfortable with such a conclusion, for whatever reason, but Lomborg's argument is substantial.

Whether Lomborg is ultimately right about every statistic he cites, and every conclusion he reaches, (and it would be remarkable if he were), this book is a thorough discussion of relevant information about a host of topics related to environmentalism. Lomborg speaks with an honest voice, and this book ought to be read by all those with a true interest in environmental policy, and a belief that true understanding means understanding all sides of a given story.

Four stars, instead of five, for being a bit too repetitious and dry at times. Still -- very readable, given that statistical analysis can be fairly dull.

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What is the REAL state of the environment and what should we do about it?

I have always considered myself to be an environmentalist since I was a child and my parents taught me not to litter or be wasteful, to be kind to animals, and to respect and appreciate nature. These are values I've maintained and am trying to pass on to my children. So, like many others, I have become increasingly worried about the condition of our planet with the constant bombardment of sound-bites bearing line after line of ever more distressing news almost on a daily basis.

But after reading through Mr. Lomborg's incredibly detailed book I find myself more worried than before, and not because we're *not doing* enough but because we're often not doing the *right* things. Mr. Lomborg, a former Green Peace activist, analyzes the data and statistics on many of the current environmental issues, such as soil erosion, landfill capacity, amount of forest cover, ozone levels, global warming, etc. He examines the data on glaciers that are melting and those that are growing. He looks into the data behind the claims of impending catastrophe, such as the famous "hockey stick" graph, and traces it back to the sources. His conclusions are often very surprising and highlight the need to NOT base public policy on shrill and panic-inducing headlines but on rational and coherent science. For example, through detailed analysis he concludes that even if all nations agreed to abide by the Kyoto Treaty it still wouldn't make a significant impact in global warming.

But just because Al Gore is afraid to talk with him, don't assume Lomborg is dismissive of the warnings about climate change. He concludes that the earth is in fact getting warmer and that mankind's activities are most likely the primary reason. But he doesn't claim, as some do, that all results will be beneficial and therefore needn't worry us. Instead, he actually analyzes the various claims of both disaster and benefit, and concludes that the results (as near as can be determined based on currently available information) will be a mixed bag. Overall he advocates for more reasoned policies of action based on sound science rather than on simple knee-jerk reaction.

This is an exhaustively researched and detailed book that covers many environmental topics and is not limited to global warming. But it is an approach that I appreciate, not merely calling for action, but calling for action in the most beneficial ways. Most may not want to attempt reading it front to back as I tried, but it is an excellent resource and is laid out in a manner that allows easy access to selective topics for lots of helpful information. An excellent voice of reason in a very emotional and important debate.

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