The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the WorldBjørn 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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LibraryThing Review
User Review - PastorBob - LibraryThingI've been paying attention to Lomborg for some time, and have seen his "Cool It" book which was much fun, but a relatively light read. The Skeptical Environmentalist lays out the solid data lying ... Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - tomxtobin - LibraryThingI'm one of the seemingly rare people who not only doesn't trust the environmental movement's claims — I also oppose their base values of putting "the planet" ahead of ourselves, meaning I'd still ... Read full review
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The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World Bjørn Lomborg Limited preview - 2001 |
The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World Bjørn Lomborg No preview available - 2001 |
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Bibliographic information
| Title | The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World |
| Author | Bjørn Lomborg |
| Edition | illustrated, reprint, revised |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press, 2001 |
| ISBN | 0521010683, 9780521010689 |
| Length | 515 pages |
| Subjects | › › Business & Economics / Development / Economic Development Business & Economics / Environmental Economics Business & Economics / Statistics Technology & Engineering / Environmental / General |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |