The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World (Danish: Verdens Sande Tilstand, literal translation: The Real State of the World) is a controversial book by political scientist Bjørn Lomborg, which argues that claims made about global warming, overpopulation, declining energy resources, deforestation, species loss, water shortages, and a variety of other global environmental issues are exaggerations and unsupported by a proper analysis of the relevant data. Notably, no popularly publicized area of environmental concern escaped the book's positive reassessment. It was first published in Danish in 1998, and the English edition was published as a work in environmental economics by Cambridge University Press in 2001. Image File history File links Theskepticalenvironmentalist. ... This is a list of controversial non-fiction books aimed at the general reader which discuss controversial issues, or are (or were at the time of writing) controversial for other reasons. ... Political science is an academic and research discipline that deals with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior. ... Bjørn Lomborg Bjørn Lomborg (born January 6, 1965) is an Adjunct Professor at the Copenhagen Business School and a former director of the Environmental Assessment Institute in Copenhagen. ... Global mean surface temperatures 1856 to 2005 Mean surface temperature anomalies during the period 1995 to 2004 with respect to the average temperatures from 1940 to 1980 Global warming is the observed increase in the average temperature of the Earths atmosphere and oceans in recent decades. ... Map of countries by population —showing the population of the China and India in the billions. ... Deforestation is the conversion of forested areas to non-forested. ... In biology and ecology, extinction is the ceasing of existence of a species or group of taxa. ... Devils Punchbowl Waterfall, New Zealand. ... This article is concerned with the production of books, magazines, and other literary material (whether in printed or electronic formats). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Environmental economics is a subfield of economics concerned with environmental issues (other usages of the term are not uncommon). ... The headquarters of the Cambridge University Press, in Trumpington Street, Cambridge. ...

Due to the sheer scope of the project, comprising the range of topics addressed, the volume and diversity of data and sources employed, and the many types of conclusions and comments advanced, The Skeptical Environmentalist' does not fit easily into a particular scientific discipline or methodology. Although published by the social sciences division of Cambridge University Press, the findings and conclusions were widely challenged on the basis of natural science. This interpretation of The Skeptical Environmentalist as a work of environmental science generated much of the controversy and debate that surrounded the book. The social sciences are groups of academic disciplines that study the human aspects of the world. ... The lunar farside as seen from Apollo 11 Natural science is the rational study of the universe via rules or laws of natural order. ... jecca is very beautiful!! Environmental science is the study of the interactions among the physical, chemical and biological components of the environment; with a focus on pollution and degradation of the environment related due to human activities; and the impact on biodiversity and sustainability from local and global development. ...

The author

Main article: Bjorn Lomborg

Bjørn Lomborg

Prior to becoming the Director of the Copenhagen Consensus Center and Adjunct Professor at the Copenhagen Business School, Bjørn Lomborg was an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Aarhus. Bjørn Lomborg Bjørn Lomborg (born January 6, 1965) is a political scientist and former director of the Institute for Environmental Assessment in Copenhagen, Denmark. ... Image File history File links Picture of Bjørn Lomborg, political scientist - No copyright - Source: From his own website http://www. ... Image File history File links Picture of Bjørn Lomborg, political scientist - No copyright - Source: From his own website http://www. ... Copenhagen Business School (Danish: Handelshøjskolen) was founded in 1917 in Copenhagen, Denmark. ... Political science is an academic and research discipline that deals with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior. ... Aarhus Universitet or the University of Aarhus is a university based in Ã…rhus, Denmark. ...

Some critics focus on his lack of training or professional experience in the environmental sciences or economics. Supporters argue his research is an appropriate application of his expertise in cost-benefit analysis, a standard analytical tool in policy assessment. They also point out that many of the scientists and environmentalists who criticized the book are not experts on environmental policies or cost benefit analysis. Buyers bargain for good prices while sellers put forth their best front in Chichicastenango Market, Guatemala. ... Cost-benefit analysis is the process of weighing the total expected costs vs. ...

In numerous interviews, he ascribed his motivation for writing The Skeptical Environmentalist to his personal convictions, making clear that he was a pro-environmentalist and a Greenpeace supporter (contrary to reports, not a "member", as Greenpeace does not have regular card-carrying membership). He has stated that he began his research as an attempt to counter what he saw as anti-ecological arguments by Julian Lincoln Simon in an article in Wired, but changed his mind after starting to analyze the data. Lomborg describes the views he attributes to environmental campaigners as the "Litany", views which he also claims to have held, and his book purports to correct. Greenpeace is an international environmental organization founded in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1971. ... Ernst Haeckel coined the term oekologie in 1866. ... Julian Lincoln Simon (February 12, 1932–February 8, 1998) was professor of business administration at the University of Maryland and a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute. ... Wired is a full-color monthly magazine and on-line periodical published in San Francisco, California since March 1993. ... A litany, in Christian worship, is a form of prayer used in church services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. ...

The Real State of the World

The subtitle refers to the report, The State of the World, published annually since 1984 by the Worldwatch Institute. Lomborg stated the report to be "one of the best-researched and academically most ambitious environmental policy publications". He also criticized it for using short-term trends to predict disastrous consequences, in cases where long-term trends would not support the same conclusions. The State of the World is a book published annually by the Worldwatch Institute. ... The Worldwatch Institute is an environmental research organisation in the United States. ...

In attempting to establish its arguments, The Skeptical Environmentalist examined a wide range of issues in the general area of environmental studies, including environmental economics and science, and came to an equally comprehensive set of conclusions and suggestions (suggestions that in many instances could also be called policy recommendations). It directly challenged popular examples of serious environmentalist concerns by assembling and interpreting data from a large number of sources, and suggested that, by presenting false claims, environmentalists cause resources to be diverted to environmental issues, when those resources could be better spent elsewhere. It cited some 3,000 individual references from primary and secondary material. Much of its methodology and integrity have been subject to criticism from scientists who argue that Lomborg has distorted the various fields of research he covers. Support for the book (and criticism of its critics) was staunch as well, though mostly from selected media and from those inclined to support the political, anti-environmental messages of the book. Methodology is a meta-knowledge. ... The physicist Albert Einstein is probably historys most widely recognized scientist. ...

Methodology

The general analytical approach is based on cost-benefit analysis as employed in the economics and now widely used in social science and in the formulation and assessment of government policy. Much of the examination of the Litany is based on statistical data analysis, therefore it may be considered by some a work of statistical science. It should be noted, however, that many of the detailed analytical criticisms published about the book argue that Lomborg misuses statistics, selectively quotes data that support his positions while ignoring other data, and misrepresents or misquotes the work of others. Because it examines the costs and benefits of its many topics, it could be considered a work in economics (as it is categorized by its publisher). However, The Skeptical Environmentalist is far more methodically eclectic and cross-disciplinary, variously combining interpretation of data with assessments of the media and human behavior, evaluations of scientific theories, and many other approaches, to arrive at its various conclusions.

In arriving at the final work, Lomborg has used a similar approach in each of the main areas and subtopics. He works from the general to the specific, starting with a broad concern, such as pollution or energy, dividing it into subtopics (e.g. air pollution; fossil fuel depletion), then identifying one or more widely held fears and their source (e.g. our air is growing increasingly toxic, by X measure, according to Y). From there, he chooses data that he considers to be the most reliable and reasonable available. He then analyzes that data to prove or disprove Y's proposition (Litany). In every case, he finds that Y's proposition is not substantiated by his calculations, and in fact is either significantly not as bad as represented, or in many cases the reverse (i.e. what is portrayed as a worsening situation is actually an apparently improving one). Having established what he calls "the true state of the world", for each topic and subtopic, Lomborg examines a variety of theories, technologies, implementation strategies and costs, and suggests alternative ways to improve not-so-dire situations, or to improve other similar areas that are currently not considered as pressing. Water pollution Pollution is the release of chemical, physical, biological or radioactive contaminants to the environment. ... This power plant in New Mexico releases sulfur dioxide and particulate matter into the air. ...

The Litany and Lomborg's findings

"The Litany" comprises very diverse areas where, Lomborg claims, overly pessimistic claims are made and as a result bad policies are implemented. He cites accepted mainstream sources, like the U.S. government, UN agencies and the like. His preference is for global long-term data, as opposed to regional and short-term. This article is about the country in North America. ... This article is about the United Nations, for other uses of UN see UN (disambiguation) Official languages English, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Arabic Secretary-General Kofi Annan (since 1997) Established October 24, 1945 Member states 191 Headquarters New York City, NY, USA Official site http://www. ...

The book is arranged around four major themes:

1. Human prosperity from an economic and demographic point of view
2. Human prosperity from an ecological point of view
3. Pollution as a threat to human prosperity
4. Future threats to human prosperity

Lomborg's main argument is that vast majority of environmental problems such as pollution, water shortages, deforestation, and species loss as well as population growth, hunger, and AIDS, are area-specific and highly correlated with poverty. Therefore, the problem is essentially a matter of logistics and can be largely solved by economic and social development. Concerning problems that are more pressing at the global level, such as the depletion of fossil fuels and global warming, his argument is that these problems are often overstated and the recommended policies (Litany) are often inappropriate if assessed against alternative policies.

Human prosperity from an economic and demographic point of view

Lomborg analyzes three major themes: life expectancy, food and hunger, and prosperity. He finds that, contrary to what is often claimed, life expectancy and health levels have dramatically improved over the past centuries, even though several regions of the world remain threatened, in particular by AIDS. Similarly, he dismisses Thomas Malthus's theory that the increase in the world's population will lead to widespread hunger. Lomborg shows on the contrary that food is widespread and the world's daily intake of calories is increasing steadily. Indeed, technological improvements in agriculture should help humankind eradicate hunger. However, Lomborg notes that Africa in particular still produces too little food, an effect he attributes to the continent's dismal economic and political systems. Concerning prosperity, Lomborg argues that wealth, as measured by per capita GDP, should not be the only criterion to judge prosperity. Lomborg points to improvements in education, safety, leisure, and ever more widespread access to consumer goods as signs that prosperity is increasing in most parts of the world. World map showing Human Life expectancy Life expectancy is the average number of years remaining for a living being (or the average for a class of living beings) of a given age to live. ... For the 1983 horror film, see The Hunger. ... Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS or Aids) is a collection of symptoms and infections in humans resulting from the specific damage to the immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). ... Rev. ... For other uses, see Africa (disambiguation). ...

Human prosperity from an ecological point of view

In this section, Lomborg looks at the world's natural resources and draws a conclusion which is opposite to Limits to Growth published in 1972. First, he analyzes food again, this time from an ecological point of view. Again, he notices that most food products are not threatened by human prosperity. The exception, however, is fish, which continues to be depleted. As a partial solution, Lomborg presents fish farms, which propose a less disruptive impact on the world's oceans. Next, Lomborg looks at forests. He finds no indication of widespread deforestation, and notes that even the Amazon forest still retains more than 80% of its cover in 1978. Lomborg points out that deforestation is linked to poverty and poor economic conditions in the concerned countries, and proposes higher economic growth to tackle the problem of deforestation. Concerning energy, Lomborg asserts that oil is not being depleted as fast as is claimed, and that improvements of technology will provide us with fossil fuels for a long time still. Lomborg also asserts that many alternatives already exist, and that with time they will replace fossil fuels as an energy source. Concerning other resources, such as metals, Lomborg suggests that based on their price history they are not in short supply. Water is another controversial topic. Lomborg says that wars will probably not erupt because of water because fighting such wars is not cost-effective (one week of war with the Palestinians, for instance, would cost Israel more than five desalination plants, according to an Israeli officer Lomborg quotes). He states that the main problem is logistic and emphasizes the need for better water management, as water is distributed unequally around the world. Limits to Growth was a 1972 book modeling the consequences of a rapidly growing world population and finite resource supplies, commissioned by the Club of Rome. ... Deforestation is the conversion of forested areas to non-forested. ...

Pollution as a threat to human prosperity

Lomborg looks at pollution from different angles. Concerning air pollution, Lomborg notes that it has steadily decreased in recent decades in rich countries. He finds that air pollution levels are highly linked to economic development, with moderately developed countries polluting most. Again, Lomborg argues that faster growth in emerging countries would help them reduce their air pollution levels. Lomborg suggests that devoting resources to reduce the levels of certain air pollutants would provide the greatest health benefits and save the largest number of lives (per amount of money spent), despite an already decades-long improvement in air quality in most developed countries. Concerning water pollution, Lomborg notes again that it is linked to economic development. He also notes that water pollution in major Western rivers have recovered quite fast after sewage systems became widespread. Concerning waste, Lomborg notes once again that fears are overblown, as the entire waste produced by the United States of America in the 21st century could fit into a square whose side would be 28 km (i.e. 0.009% of the total surface of the United States). Water pollution Water pollution is a large set of adverse effects upon water bodies (lakes, rivers, oceans, groundwater) caused by human activities. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Future threats to human prosperity

The previous sections of the book were less controversial. In this section, he proposes his main recommendation and assessment that under cost benefit analysis, the environmental threats to human prosperity is overstated and much of policy response is misguided. As an example, Lomborg cites our worries about pesticides and their link to cancer. He argues that such concerns are vastly exaggerated in the public perception, as alcohol and coffee are the foods that create by far the greatest risk of cancer, as opposed to vegetables that have been sprayed with pesticides. He goes on to criticize the fear of a vertiginous decline in biodiversity, proposing a number of 0.7% of species extinct in 50 years (as compared to a maximum of 50%, as claimed by some biologists). While this is still a problem, as Lomborg admits, it is not the catastrophe claimed by some because it still has little effect on human prosperity. A cropduster spreading pesticide. ... When normal cells are damaged beyond repair, they are eliminated by apoptosis. ... Rainforests are among the most biodiverse ecosystems on earth Biodiversity or biological diversity is the diversity of life. ...

However, his most contentious assertion involves Global warming. From the outset, Lomborg "accepts the reality of man-made global warming" though he refers to a number of uncertainties in the computer simulations of global warming and some aspects of data collection. Lomborg's main contention involves not the science of global warming but the politics and the policy response to such scientific findings. He points out that, given the amount of greenhouse gas reduction required to combat global warming, the current Kyoto protocol is grossly insufficient. He goes on to argue that the economic cost of the restrictions which have to be put in place to actually reverse or even slow down global warming is impractically high compared to the alternative of coordinating the international communities to adjust to global warming. Moreover, he asserts that the cost of combating global warming would be disproportionately shouldered by poor developing countries. Since the policy combating global warming places unrealistic limits on economic activities, the countries that suffer from pollution and poverty due to the state of their economies will be condemned to continue in such a state. He proposes that the importance of global warming in terms of policy priority may be low compared to other policy issues such as fighting poverty and disease and aiding poor countries, which has direct and more immediate impact both in terms of welfare and the environment. He therefore asks for a global cost-benefit analysis to be made before deciding on the best measures to take. The Copenhagen Consensus that Lomborg later organized led to the conclusion that combating global warming does have a benefit but its priority compared to other issues is "poor" (ranked 13th) and three projects addressing climate change (optimal carbon tax, the Kyoto protocol and value-at-risk carbon tax), are the least cost-efficient of the proposals. Global mean surface temperatures 1856 to 2005 Mean surface temperature anomalies during the period 1995 to 2004 with respect to the average temperatures from 1940 to 1980 Global warming is the observed increase in the average temperature of the Earths atmosphere and oceans in recent decades. ... Copenhagen Consensus is a project which seeks to establish priorities for advancing global welfare using methodologies based on the theory of welfare economics. ...

Conclusions

Lomborg concludes his book by once again reviewing the Litany, and noting that the real state of the world is much better than the Litany claims. According to Lomborg, this poses a problem, as it focuses public attention on relatively unimportant issues, while ignoring the important ones. Or in the worst case, it forces the global community to adopt inappropriate policies which have adverse effects on humanity. This wastes resources that could be put to much better use in aiding poor countries overcoming their poverty (and thus solving their deforestation, water, hunger and pollution problems) or fighting diseases like AIDS. Also, he states that investing in technologies to produce renewable energy would be a good use for our money. Lomborg thus urges us to look at what he calls the true problems of the world, since solving those will also solve the Litany.

Reaction

The Skeptical Environmentalist was controversial even before its English-language release, with anti-publication efforts launched against Cambridge University Press. Once in the public arena, the book elicited extreme reactions in scientific circles and in the mainstream media. Opinion was largely polarized. Environmental groups were generally critical.

Anti-publication pressures

Dr. Chris Harrison (Publishing Director of social science publishing for Cambridge University Press), anticipating the level of controversy a book like this would likely provoke, took extra care with the book's peer-review process. For example, instead of choosing candidates from the usual list of social science referees, Cambridge University Press chose from a list provided by their environmental science publishing program. Four were chosen: a climate scientist, an expert in biodiversity and sustainable development, a specialist on the economics of climate change (whose credentials include reviewing publications for the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)) and a "pure" economist. All four members of Cambridge's initial review panel agreed that the book should be published. Rainforests are among the most biodiverse ecosystems on earth Biodiversity or biological diversity is the diversity of life. ... Sustainability is a systemic concept, relating to the continuity of economic, social, institutional and environmental aspects of human society. ... IPCC is science authority for the UNFCCC The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established in 1988 by two United Nations organizations, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to assess the risk of human-induced climate change. The Panel is open to all...

While criticism of the book was to be expected, the publishers, Cambridge University Press, were apparently surprised by the pressure brought against them not to publish The Skeptical Environmentalist. The complaints of some critics included demands that Cambridge convene a special panel to review the book in order to identify errors (despite existing pre-publication peer review), that Cambridge transfer their publishing rights to a "non-scholarly publishing house" and that they review their own policies to prevent publication of books described as "essentially a political tract" in future. The headquarters of the Cambridge University Press, in Trumpington Street, Cambridge. ... Peer review (known as refereeing in some academic fields) is a scholarly process used in the publication of manuscripts and in the awarding of funding for research. ...

In the article, entitled "Peer review, politics and pluralism", Dr. Chris Harrison noted that "many of the critical reviews of The Skeptical Environmentalist went beyond the usual unpicking of a thesis and concentrated instead on the role of the publisher in publishing the book at all. The post tray and e-mail inbox of editors and senior managers at the press bore witness to a concerted campaign to persuade Cambridge to renounce the book." He went on to describe complaints from environmentalists who feared the book would be "abused by corporate interests". Cambridge University Press felt it necessary to issue a formal, written statement, in order to "explain the editorial decisions that led not just to publishing the book but also to Cambridge's resistance to concerted pressure to withdraw it from the market." With these complaints and the publication of a Scientific American issue dealing with the book (described below), Cambridge stated, in response to those who claimed the book lacked peer-review credentials, "it would be quite wrong to abandon an author who had satisfied the requirements of our peer-review system." Scientific American is a popular-science magazine, published monthly since August 28, 1845, making it the oldest continuously published magazine in the United States. ...

Cambridge took the additional step of inviting submissions of publishing proposals for books which offered an opposing argument to Lomborg's but noted that they had, to the best of Chris Harrison's knowledge, seen no attempt by any of the critics to submit such a proposal. This is seen by some to suggest that criticism of the book was political rather than academic. Subsequent to Cambridge's unequivocal assertion that The Skeptical Environmentalist had been subject to peer-review, Harrison noted that "we were surprised and disappointed to see the critics' letter being quoted in an issue of Time magazine (2 September 2002)... in which the authors repeated their charge that the book had not been peer-reviewed despite the assurances to the contrary that they had by then received by the press... It has become part of the anti-Lomborg folklore that this book bypassed the usual Cambridge peer-review process... This is a charge that is repeated in many of the public and private attacks in the press, and it is unfounded." September 2 is the 245th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (246th in leap years). ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ...

Criticism

Critics approached The Skeptical Environmentalist from several angles. Scientists attacked the data, the analyses and the conclusions. Others pointed to the "media" as being responsible for creating undue attention. Others simply found Lomborg's findings unrealistic.

Criticism of the material and methods

The January 2002 issue of Scientific American contains, under the heading "Misleading Math about the Earth", a set of essays by several scientists, claiming that Lomborg and The Skeptical Environmentalist misrepresent both scientific evidence and scientific opinion. The magazine then refused Lomborg's request to print a lengthy point-by-point rebuttal in his own defence, on the grounds that the 32 pages would have taken a disproportionate share of the magazine. The magazine allowed Lomborg a one-page defense in the May 2002 issue ^[1] When Lomborg published his complete response on his website, the magazine attempted to remove the page on the grounds of copyright violation. After receiving much criticism, the magazine published his complete rebuttal on-line^[2], along with counterrebuttals of John Rennie ^[3] and John P. Holdren ^[4]. Scientific American is a popular-science magazine, published monthly since August 28, 1845, making it the oldest continuously published magazine in the United States. ...

Nature also published a harsh review of Lomborg's book. In it, Stuart Pimm of the Center for Environmental Research and Conservation at Columbia University and Jeff Harvey of the Netherlands Institute of Ecology wrote: "the text employs the strategy of those who, for example, argue that gay men aren't dying of AIDS, that Jews weren't singled out by the Nazis for extermination, and so on." First title page, November 4, 1869 Nature is one of the oldest and most reputable scientific journals, first published on 4 November 1869. ... Columbia University is a private university whose main campus lies in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of the Borough of Manhattan in New York City. ... Jeff Harvey is a Senior Scientist in the Department of Multitrophic Interactions at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology, and formerly an editor of Nature. ... Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS or Aids) is a collection of symptoms and infections in humans resulting from the specific damage to the immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Lomborg has also been criticized (in, for example, a 2002 review in the UK journal Local Environment) for using straw man arguments, with charges that his "litany" of environmental doom-mongering does not accurately represent the mainstream views of the contemporary green movement. The straw man fallacy is a rhetorical technique (also classified as a logical fallacy) based on misrepresentation of an opponents position. ... The Green movement encompasses the Green parties of various countries, and relies on the ideals of the larger ecology movement, peace movement, conservation movement, environmental movement and general trend towards environmentalism. ...

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), a political activist group comprised of scientists, referred to their own set of commissioned rebuttals and summarized thusly: The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) is an advocacy organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. ...

These separately-written expert reviews unequivocally demonstrate that on closer inspection, Lomborg's book is seriously flawed and fails to meet basic standards of credible scientific analysis. The authors note how Lomborg consistently misuses, misrepresents or misinterprets data to greatly underestimate rates of species extinction, ignore evidence that billions of people lack access to clean water and sanitation, and minimize the extent and impacts of global warming due to the burning of fossil fuels and other human-caused emissions of heat-trapping gases. Time and again, these experts find that Lomborg's assertions and analyses are marred by flawed logic, inappropriate use of statistics and hidden value judgments. He uncritically and selectively cites literature—often not peer-reviewed—that supports his assertions, while ignoring or misinterpreting scientific evidence that does not. His consistently flawed use of scientific data is, in Peter Gleick's words "unexpected and disturbing in a statistician".^[5]

The "separately written expert reviews" individually further detail the various expert opinions. Peter Gleick's review, for example, states: Dr. Peter H. Gleick (b. ...

There is nothing original or unique in Lomborg's book. Many of his criticisms have appeared in... previous works—and even in the work of environmental scientists themselves. What is new, perhaps, is the scope and variety of the errors he makes.

Jerry Mahlman's review of the chapter he was asked to evaluate, states: Jerry Mahlman (b. ...

I found some aspects of this chapter to be interesting, challenging, and logical. For example, the author's characterizations of the degree of difficulty in actually doing something meaningful about climate change through mitigation and coping/adaptation are perceptive and valuable. In principle, such characterizations could provide a foundation for more meaningful policy planning on this difficult problem. Unfortunately, the author's lack of rigor and consistency on these larger issues is likely to negate any real respect for his insights.

Criticism of media handling

Another angle of critical attack focused as much on Lomborg as it did on the book, charging that The Skeptical Environmentalist's prominence was due to the intense media coverage: had not the coverage been so great, neither would its impact. The controversial statements the book presents, and the fact that Lomborg offered a catchy public image - "[Lomborg] not a steely-eyed economist at a conservative Washington think tank but a vegetarian, backpack-toting academic who was a member of Greenpeace for four years" - New York Times - made the package of contrarian book and hip author eminently media-ready. This article is in need of attention. ...

One critical article, "The Skeptical Environmentalist: A Case Study in the Manufacture of News"^[6], attributes this media success to its initial, influential supporters:

News of the pending book first appeared in the UK in early June of 2001 when a Sunday Times article by Nayab Chohan featured an advanced report of claims made by Lomborg that London's air was cleaner than at any time since 1585. Headlined "Cleanest London Air for 400 Years," the publicity hook was both local and timely, as the tail end of the article linked the book's questioning of the Kyoto climate change protocol to U.S. president George W. Bush's visit the same week to Europe, and Bush's controversial opposition to the treaty. The Times followed up the report the next day with a news article further detailing the book's Kyoto protocol angle.

With The Times reports, Lomborg and his claims had made the Anglo media agenda. As is typically the case, other media outlets followed the reporting of the elite newspaper. Articles pegging the claims of The Skeptical Environmentalist to Bush's European visit ran later that week in the U.K's The Express and Daily Telegraph, and Canada's Toronto Star."

This article or section may be confusing or unclear for some readers, and should be edited to rectify this. ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American businessman and politician, was elected in 2000 as the 43rd President of the United States of America, re-elected in 2004, and is currently serving his second term in that office. ... World map showing Europe Political map Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of Earth; the term continent here referring to a cultural and political distinction, rather than a physiographic one, thus leading to various perspectives about Europes precise borders. ... This article deals with The Daily Telegraph in Britain, see The Daily Telegraph (Australia) for the Australian publication The Daily Telegraph is a British broadsheet newspaper founded in 1855. ... The Toronto Star is Canadas highest circulation newspaper, though its print edition is distributed almost entirely within Ontario. ...

The "unrealistic" critique

Some critics of The Skeptical Environmentalist took issue, not with the statistical investigation of Lomborg's Litany, but with the suggestions and conclusions that the book based upon them. This line of criticism considered The Skeptical Environmentalist as a contribution to the policy debate over environment rather than the work of natural science. In a BBC column from August 23, 2001, veteran BBC environmental correspondent Alex Kirby wrote: Founded in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company Ltd (a privately owned company), subsequently Incorporated and nationalised in 1927 as The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC, also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world. ... This is the song that never ends yes it gos on and on my friends some people started singing it not knowing what it was they just started singing it forever just becauseThis is the song that never ends yes it gos on and on my friends some... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Alex Kirby is a British journalist, specializing in environmental issues. ...

I am neither a statistician nor a scientist, and I lack the skill to judge Lomborg's reworkings of the statistics of conventional wisdom. But I am worried that on virtually every topic he touches, he reaches conclusions radically different from almost everybody else. That seems to suggest that most scientists are wrong, short-sighted, naïve, interested only in securing research funds, or deliberately dancing to the campaigners' tune. Most I know are honest, intelligent and competent. So it beggars belief to suppose that Professor Lomborg is the only one in step, every single time.^[7]

Kirby's first concern was not with the extensive research and statistical analysis, but the conclusions drawn from them:

What really riles me about his book is that it is so damnably reasonable. In the rational world that Bjørn Lomborg thinks we all inhabit, we would manage problems sensibly, one by one...But the real world is messier, more unpredictable - and more impatient.

On September 5, 2001, at a The Skeptical Environmentalist book reading in England, British environmentalist author Mark Lynas threw a cream pie in Lomborg's face. In a September 9, 2001, article, "Why I pied Lomborg", Lynas stated: September 5 is the 248th day of the year (249th in leap years). ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Mark Lynas (b. ... September 9 is the 252nd day of the year (253rd in leap years). ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...

Lomborg specialises in presenting the reader with false choices - such as the assertion that money not spent on preventing climate change could be spent on bringing clean water to the developing world, thereby saving more lives per dollar of expenditure. Of course, in the real world, these are not the kind of choices we are faced with. Why not take the $60 billion from George Bush's stupid Son of Star Wars program and use that cash to save lives in Ethiopia? Because in a world where political choices are not made democratically at a global level, but by a small number of rich countries and corporations, the poor and the environment are never going to be a priority.^[8]

The December 12, 2001 issue of Grist, a popular online environmental magazine, devoted an issue to The Skeptical Environmentalist, with a series of essays from various scientists challenging individual sections. A separate article examining the book's overall approach took issue with the framing of Lomborg's conclusions: December 12 is the 346th day (347th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 19 days remaining. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Grist Magazine, Environmental News & Commentary (est. ...

Lomborg begins by making the entirely reasonable point that accurate information is critical to informed decision-making. If information is skewed to paint a bleaker environmental picture than is justified by reality, as he claims, then we will in turn skew our limited resources in favor of the environment and away from other important causes. ... Then Lomborg proceeds to weigh the causes championed by the environmental movement against a deliberately circumscribed universe of other possible "good causes." It is up to us, he says, to make responsible decisions about whether to protect the environment or "boost Medicaid, increase funding to the arts, or cut taxes. ... The worse they can make this state appear, the easier it is for them to convince us we need to spend more money on the environment rather on hospitals, kindergartens, etc." A few pages later he again claims that the purpose of the Litany is to cause us to prioritize the environment over "hospitals, child day care, etc." ... But who is really failing to consider how our money is spent? As Lomborg notes, "We will never have enough money," and therefore, "Prioritization is absolutely essential." Why, then, does he weigh the environment only against hospitals and childcare, rather than against, say, industry subsidies and defense spending?^[9]

Addressing the apparent difficulty of scientists opposing The Skeptical Environmentalist in criticizing the book strictly on the basis of statistics and challenging the conclusions about areas of environmental sciences that were drawn from them, Lynas contends:

One of the biggest problems facing the environmental community in analyzing Lomborg’s book is that his work, as flawed as it is, has clearly been very time-consuming and meticulous. In a busy and under funded world, few people have the time or background knowledge to plow though 3,000 footnotes checking his sources. It is impressively interdisciplinary.

Support

In spite of intense criticism in most of the natural scientific press, The Skeptical Environmentalist received positive, sometimes enthusiastic, reviews from policy magazines, academic journals in social science and many newspapers and other mainstream media. Given the timing of the English edition, which was published in August 2001, it has been suggested that the media coverage of The Skeptical Environmentalist would have been considerably greater, had not the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US dominated the news media for several months. The explosion resulting from the crashing of United Airlines Flight 175 into the South Tower. ...

Influential UK newsweekly, The Economist, weighed in at the start with heavy support, publishing an advance essay by Lomborg in which he detailed his Litany, and following up with a highly favorable review and supportive coverage. It stated that "This is one of the most valuable books on public policy—not merely environmental policy - to have been written for the intelligent general reader in the past ten years.... The Skeptical Environmentalist is a triumph." It has been suggested that The Economist editorial stance be merged into this article or section. ...

Among the general media, New York Times stated, "The primary target of the book, a substantial work of analysis with almost 3,000 footnotes, are statements made by environmental organizations like the Worldwatch Institute, the World Wildlife Fund and Greenpeace." Wall Street Journal stated "...a superbly documented and readable book.". Washington Post stated "Bjørn Lomborg's good news about the environment is bad news for Green ideologues. His richly informative, lucid book is now the place from which environmental policy decisions must be argued. In fact, The Skeptical Environmentalist is the most significant work on the environment since the appearance of its polar opposite, Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, in 1962. It's a magnificent achievement." Rolling Stone wrote, "Lomborg pulls off the remarkable feat of welding the techno-optimism of the Internet age with a lefty's concern for the fate of the planet." The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... The Wall Street Journal is an influential international daily newspaper published in New York City, New York with an average daily circulation of 1,800,607 (2002). ... ... Silent Spring was written by Rachel Carson and published in September, 1962. ... // History John Lennon - RS 1 (November 9, 1967)How I Won the War Film Still Founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner (who is still editor and publisher) and music critic Ralph J. Gleason, Rolling Stone was initially identified with and reported on the hippie counterculture of the...

Many of the supporters of the book argued that so called "scientific" criticism of the book is in fact political or ideological. Moreover, many have pointed out that the critics fail to engage on the most controversial proposition of the book, that even if one accept the scientific implication of global warming, Kyoto protocol is not an appropriate policy response and the environmental policy should be assessed on the basis of the cost benefit analysis.

Some raised concern about the response of certain sections of the scientific community against a peer reviewed book published under the category of environmental economics. This raised speculation that it is an example of politicization of science by the scientist. This was particularly apparent in the involvement of Union of Concerned Scientists and Danish Committees on Scientific Dishonesty (see below). In "When scientists politicize science: making sense of controversy over The Skeptical Environmentalist" (Environmental Science & Policy 7, 2004), Roger A. Pielke argue that: The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) is an advocacy organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. ... The Danish Committees on Scientific Dishonesty (the Udvalgene Vedrørende Videnskabelig Uredelighed, or UVVU) are a set of three committees under the Danish Ministry of Research and Information Technology: a committee for natural science, agricultural and veterinary science and technical science; a committee for health and medical science; and a...

"the use of science by scientists as a means of negotiating for desired political outcomes – the politicization of science by scientists – threatens the development of effective policies in contested issues. By tying themselves to politics, rather than policy, scientists necessarily restrict their value and the value of their science."

In "Green with Ideology - The hidden agenda behind the "scientific" attacks on Bjørn Lomborg’s controversial book, The Skeptical Environmentalist", Ronald Bailey stated that "The bitter anti-Lomborg campaign reveals the hidden crisis of what we might call ideological environmentalism." He further stated that Ronald Bailey is the Science Editor for Reason magazine. ...

"The Skeptical Environmentalist obviously should be held to high standards of accuracy, but to insist that it read like a scientific paper is both specious and disingenuous. The book is essentially a response to such popular environmentalist tracts as the State of the World report and the reams of misinformation disseminated by Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, the Union of Concerned Scientists, The Ecologist, the Turning Point Project, Grist, Wild Earth, and the rest of the sprawling eco-media propaganda complex.

Formal charge of scientific dishonesty

Detailed coverage at Bjørn Lomborg/Formal accusations of scientific dishonesty Bjørn Lomborg Bjørn Lomborg (born January 6, 1965) is an Adjunct Professor at the Copenhagen Business School and a former director of the Environmental Assessment Institute in Copenhagen. ...

Several environmental scientists brought complaints against Lomborg before the social sciences committee of the Danish Committees on Scientific Dishonesty (DCSD), a body under the Danish Ministry of Research and Information Technology. This added fuel to the overall controversy surrounding The Skeptical Environmentalist, and served as a rallying point for both supporters and critics of Lomborg and the book. In January 2003, the DCSD reached its decision, and also took the unusual step of releasing its working papers, which contained their various internal discussions. The conclusion was that Lomborg was not guilty of intentional scientific dishonesty, as he had no experience in the scientific areas concerned in the complaints. However, through the release of its notes, the DCSD made public that it did find The Skeptical Environmentalist to be a matter of scientific dishonesty. The Danish Committees on Scientific Dishonesty (the Udvalgene Vedrørende Videnskabelig Uredelighed, or UVVU) are a set of three committees under the Danish Ministry of Research and Information Technology: a committee for natural science, agricultural and veterinary science and technical science; a committee for health and medical science; and a...

Subsequently, Lomborg complained to the Ministry of Research and Information Technology, which found the DCSD's handling of the investigation to be improper, and ordered the DCSD to reconsider the case. Ministry found that the DCSD had made a number of procedural errors, including failure to establish their right to intervene in the first place given that the book was published under the category of environmental economics, failure to establish a precise standard for deciding "good scientific practice" in the social sciences, and failure to provide specific statements on actual errors.

The DCSD declined to reopen it, citing the fact that Lomborg had already been cleared in the first instance. Since that first investigation was invalidated by the Ministry, not reopening it amounted to the DCSD declining to proceed on the original complaints. The conclusions concerning The Skeptical Environmentalist, never formally withdrawn by the DCSD, ceased to officially exist.^[10]

The DCSD decision about Lomborg provoked a petition^[11] among Danish academics. 308 scientists, many of them from the social sciences, criticised the DCSD's methods in the case. A Dutch science-based think tank, Heidelberg Appeal the Netherlands, published a report in which they claim that 25 out of 27 accusations against Lomborg to be unsubstantiated or not to the point.^[12] Look up Petition in Wiktionary, the free dictionary A petition is a request to an authority, most commonly a government official or public entity. ... This article is about the institution. ...

In reaction to the pro-Lomborg petition, another group of Danish scientists collected signatures in support of the DCSD. The 640 signatures in this second petition came almost exclusively from the medical and natural sciences, and included Jens Christian Skou (a Nobel laureate for chemistry), former university rector Kjeld Møllgård, and professor Poul Harremoës from the Technical University of Denmark.^[13] The lunar farside as seen from Apollo 11 Natural science is the rational study of the universe via rules or laws of natural order. ... Jens Christian Skou (born October 8, 1918) is a Danish chemist and Nobel laureate. ... Sir Edward Appletons medal Photographs of Nobel Prize Medals. ... The word rector (ruler, from the Latin regere) has a number of different meanings. ... Technical University of Denmark The Technical University of Denmark (Danish: Danmarks Tekniske Universitet (DTU)) was founded in 1829 as the College of Advanced Technology (Danish: Den Polytekniske Læreanstalt) belonging to the University of Copenhagen. ...

Longer-term impact

The Skeptical Environmentalist became a high-profile international bestseller during 2001-2002. The Skeptical Environmentalist currently appears on the reading list of a variety of university environmental studies courses as recommended or required reading. In the years following, Lomborg's impact on the public policy debate was heightened by his association with the Copenhagen Consensus. Lomborg's second book, Global Crises, Global Solutions (October 2004; Cambridge University Press), of which he is the editor, is based on an academic project that he initiated and presided over called the Copenhagen Consensus, comprising eight economists, including three Nobel Prize in Economics winners. It also addresses global problems in a sweeping way, using data analysis and interpretation by a panel of well-known economists. Copenhagen Consensus is a project which seeks to establish priorities for advancing global welfare using methodologies based on the theory of welfare economics. ... Global Crises, Global Solutions is a book presenting the first conclusions of the Copenhagen Consensus, edited by Bjørn Lomborg, published in 2004 by the Cambridge University Press. ... The Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel (in Swedish Sveriges Riksbanks pris i ekonomisk vetenskap till Alfred Nobels minne), is a prize awarded each year for outstanding intellectual contributions in the field of economics. ... An economist is an individual who studies, develops, and applies theories and concepts from economics, and writes about economic policy. ...

See also

• Environmentalism
• Environmental skepticism
• Global warming
• Hubbert peak
• Overpopulation

Environmentalism is the philosphical concern that humans may be damaging the natural environment, and that this damage may adversely impact people. ... Environmental skepticism is an umbrella term that describes those that believe certain claims put forward by environmentalists, particularly some of the more alarming claims, are exaggerated to some degree. ... Global mean surface temperatures 1856 to 2005 Mean surface temperature anomalies during the period 1995 to 2004 with respect to the average temperatures from 1940 to 1980 Global warming is the observed increase in the average temperature of the Earths atmosphere and oceans in recent decades. ... The Hubbert peak theory, also known as peak oil, is an influential theory concerning the long-term rate of conventional oil (and other fossil fuel) extraction and depletion. ... Map of countries by population —showing the population of the China and India in the billions. ...

References

General

• Lomborg, Bjørn. The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World, Cambridge University Press 2001, ISBN 0-521-01068-3 .

Citations and notes

• Stuart Pimm and Jeff Harvey: "No need to worry about the future". Nature vol. 414, November 8, 2001
• Stephen Schneider, John P. Holdren, John Bongaarts, Thomas Lovejoy: "Misleading Math about the Earth". Scientific American, January 2002
• Julian Simon article in Wired magazine

April 15 is the 105th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (106th in leap years). ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... February 21 is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... April 15 is the 105th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (106th in leap years). ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... February 21 is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 8 is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 53 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... February 21 is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 23 is the 23rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... February 21 is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This is the song that never ends yes it gos on and on my friends some people started singing it not knowing what it was they just started singing it forever just becauseThis is the song that never ends yes it gos on and on my friends some... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... February 21 is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 12 is the 346th day (347th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 19 days remaining. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... February 21 is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 26 is the 330th day (331st on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... April 4 is the 94th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (95th in leap years). ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... February 21 is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 8 is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 53 days remaining. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...

External links

• A sample of the book (PDF)
• A 244-page rebuttal to Lomborg, by twelve scientists, published by the Danish Ecological Council; free download
• Lomborg's responses to his critics at Bjørn Lomborg's Website
• HAN selection of complaints made by Lomborg critics, an article collection by Heidelberg Appeal Nederland, supporting Lomborg.
• Anti-Lomborg Site

PDF is an abbreviation with several meanings: Portable Document Format Post-doctoral fellowship Probability density function There also is an electronic design automation company named PDF Solutions. ...

Reviews of the book

For:

• John Gillot: "The Skeptical Environmentalist" Spiked-Science Online, September 10, 2001.
• "Doomsday postponed" The Economist, September 6, 2001.
• "Greener Than You Think", by Denis Dutton in The Washington Post, October 21, 2001.
• "The Skeptical Environmentalist", Association of British Drivers, 2001.

Against: Spiked is a British internet magazine focussing on politics, culture and society. ... September 10 is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years). ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... It has been suggested that The Economist editorial stance be merged into this article or section. ... This article is about the day of the year. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Denis Dutton is a professor of philosophy at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. ... The Washington Post is the largest and oldest newspaper in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. ... October 21 is the 294th day of the year (295th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 71 days remaining. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... The Association of British Drivers, founded in 1992, is a British motorists advocacy group. ...

• Review of The Skeptical Environmentalist by the Union of Concerned Scientists with reviews from Peter Gleick, Jerry D. Mahlman and E.O. Wilson.
• Chris Lavers: "You've never had it so good", The Guardian September 1, 2001.
• "Nine things journalists should know about The Skeptical Environmentalist", World Resources Institute.
• "The Skeptical Environmentalist: A Case Study in the Manufacture of News", Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, January 23, 2003.
• "Something Is Rotten in the State of Denmark", Grist Magazine, December 12, 2001.
• "Reading notes : The Skeptical Environmentalist" by Jean-Marc Jancovici (discuss the "climate change" chapter only)
• The "Lomborg Errors" website, set up by Kåre Fog, that, in its words, "gathers and publishes errors found in Bjørn Lomborg's book".
• "No need to worry about the future", by Stuart Pimm and Jeff Harvey in Nature, 8 November 2001.

Mixed: The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) is an advocacy organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. ... Dr. Peter H. Gleick (b. ... E.O. Wilson with Dynastes hercules E. O. Wilson, or Edward Osborne Wilson, (born June 10, 1929) is an entomologist and biologist known for his work on ecology, evolution, and sociobiology. ... The Guardian is a British newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. ... September 1 is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years). ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... World Resources Institute (WRI) is an environmental think tank based in Washington, D.C. It was established by James Gustave (Gus) Speth. ... The Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, or CSICOP, is a U.S. organization founded to encourage the critical investigation of paranormal and fringe-science claims from a responsible, scientific point of view and disseminate factual information about the results of such inquiries to the scientific... January 23 is the 23rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Grist Magazine, Environmental News & Commentary (est. ... December 12 is the 346th day (347th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 19 days remaining. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Jeff Harvey is a Senior Scientist in the Department of Multitrophic Interactions at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology, and formerly an editor of Nature. ... First title page, November 4, 1869 Nature is one of the oldest and most reputable scientific journals, first published on 4 November 1869. ... November 8 is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 53 days remaining. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...

• Nichola Wade: "From an Unlikely Quarter, Eco-Optimism". The New York Times, August 7, 2001.