Aug 26, 2014

Cool It! - A Guide To Global Warming

I've just recently read a book that has been a bit of an eye-opener to me: Cool It by Bjorn Lomborg. If you're interested in or worried about global warming, this is a must-read. If you're skeptical about global warming, you need to read it. It is the most balanced account of what is actually happening and what we can/should do about the earth's problems that I have read so far.

Topics include the well-publicized decline of the polar bear population (true?) and the question of how global the warming process really is. Lomborg goes straight to the facts and shows the truth about melting glaciers, rising sea levels, extreme weather events, flooding, water shortages and more. Do we need to fear a new ice age in Europe? He answers this and other questions as well.


Here are a few quotes from the book, so you can get a feel for the content...

How to respond to the problem of global warming:
"What is debatable, however, is whether hysteria and headlong spending on extravagant CO2-cutting programs at an unprecedented price is the only possible response. Such a course is especially debatable in a world where billions of people live in poverty, where millions die of curable diseases, and where these lives could be saved, societies strengthened, and environments improved at a fraction of the cost."

The truth about polar bears:
"Even if we take the story of decline at face value, it means we have lost about 15 bears to global warming each year, whereas we have lost 49 each year to hunting."

What are we really trying to achieve?
"We need to remind ourselves that our ultimate goal is not to reduce greenhouse gases or global warming per se but to improve the quality of life and the environment."

What will really help humanity?
"Rather we should focus on cutting the cost of reducing CO2 emissions. While this may not be as romantic as a 'generational mission,' it is much more efficient, stands a much better chance of working, and will really help humanity."

You can get the book here or in my bookstore ;-)

No comments:

Post a Comment