Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 16-20 of 333
 Best book I have read in a long time August 8, 2007
F. Sanchez (Austin, TX USA)
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
Finally, a book that puts perspective and context to the environmental movement. Yes, we have problems and Yes, we have come a long way in the last century. It provides optimism that together we can solve tomorrow's environmental/quality of life problems. And does this with humor, population increases, quote: "it is not that we have begun breeding like rabbits, but that we are not dying off like flies" that is driving population increases, which should flatten around 12 billion by 2050 or so. And, is this sustainable, yes and no. Read the book.
 Bjorn Lomborg is the Waylon Smithers of the corporate world July 29, 2007
Richard W. Heger (Chicago Illinois)
4 out of 49 found this review helpful
Paper not even worthy a cleaning up after Fido, Bjorn breaks out his best "Pollyanna" dress for Sunday brunch with this sunny side up rotten egg! Undigestable for real scientists, but bubble boys and zombies on a healthy diet of televised info-tainment will eat it up. Pure garbage.
The Real Deal May 18, 2007
Patricia A. Carlevaro (Slate Hill, NY United States)
I have always been deeply skeptical of any "study" or "survey" that does not include numbers and verifiable references. This is not the case in this book. It is well researched and you don't have to be a statistician to understand the graphs and references. Of course since it reflects my empirical world view quite closely (my husband asked if I had written it), I enjoyed it all the more. However, the chapter on global warming is not for the faint of heart. The U.N.'s plan for the way you and I should live scared the socks off me. As an antidote for your chills I suggest you Google "Little Climate Optimum".
A Fraud perpetrated on the Gullible May 10, 2007
John D. Croft
19 out of 71 found this review helpful
Bjorn Lomberg, a political scientist in Denmark, has become the darling of the anti-environmentalist movement with the claim that he started as an environmentalist, and has disproved their claims. He his book has been found by the Danish government's Committee on Scientific Dishonesty, to be "deemed to fall within the concept of scientific dishonesty. ...In view of the subjective requirements made in terms of intent or gross negligence, ... the publication is deemed clearly contrary to the standards of good scientific practice."
Lomberg was only aquitted on the grounds that he was not, as claimed, an environmentalist. His claim that he was involved in Greenpeace was later found also to be in error, as an examination of Greenpeace records never showed him to have ever been a member. He later claimed that he had at some time, donated money to the organisation.
The book it appears contains 111 outright errors and 208 flaws.
Truly outstanding May 9, 2007
dick (Westport CT)
11 out of 16 found this review helpful
This is a calm, measured appraisal of the 'facts' (as best we know them) regarding a range of environmental topics - poverty, starvation, water supply, pollution, and so on. Using highly reputable sources of data, and with extensive references throughout, Lomborg analyzes the state of play, topic by topic: first, where we are today and how we got here; then projections of likely futures.
In most regards, the data supports an optimistic view of the world's state. For example, the evidence presented by Lomborg on starvation reveals a declining percentage of the world's population starving, even a declining absolute number, and an increase in caloric intake per capita. And there is ample reason to expect hunger to decline still further in the future. As with several of the topics, however, progress in this area has not been uniformly distributed across the world, with - again as with other issues - Sub-Saharan Africa failing to benefit from the favorable trends that have been experienced elsewhere, particularly in Asia. Generally speaking, each of these sections leads to a similar conclusion: matters as they stand today are far from perfect, but they are better than they were in the past, and there is every reason to expect them to improve still further in the future.
Then we come to global warming. Despite the claims by environmental zealots that global warming is universally acknowledged, and that it is universally recognized as deriving from mankind's production of greenhouse gasses, this of course remains a controversial topic. As elsewhere, Lomborg takes a measured approach, choosing to believe (at least for now) that global warming is at least partially caused by CO2 - while acknowledging the factors suggesting that the effect of this gas on climate might be considerably less than some claim. Lomborg's stance is: 'if it's true, what should we do about it, and when'? His conclusion - we shouldn't do much at all, at least not yet. In particular, we should avoid wasting scarce resources ineffectively, or in ways that will hamper the global economic progress necessary for the developing world to become affluent, healthy and well fed. Expenditures in, for example, the Kyoto approach would yield negligible benefits - at a huge cost. Instead, Lomborg argues, we should invest in whatever defensive measures become necessary, in about 50 years from now.
Most books concerning the environment - on both sides of the spectrum - approach the issues with a great deal of rhetoric, accompanied by a small amount of evidence selectively assembled to support an argument. At worst, they are hysterical in tone. Not so this excellent volume, which balances a somewhat academic presentation with a popular narrative style, and offers a great deal of factual evidence for the reader's consideration.
No matter what you think you believe about the environment, you owe it to yourself to read this excellent work.
Showing reviews 16-20 of 333
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