The skeptical environmentalist
I’ve finished reading this book, the Skeptical Environmentalist. I didn’t really read the whole thing, some parts I “skimmed through”. Basically it is a danish statistic professor, who thinks the “world is in great shape”, and tests most environmental “problems” and shows us that things are rather good. His idea is that we need to focus on real problems, and use our money to the maximum profit, not just on things that are “popular”.
It seems like there is a HUGE debate over this book. Some scientists believe he uses non-scientific methods, and other defend him.
I was really annoyed with him sometimes. He likes to take some forecasts and claim they are just “forecasts” and shows how they will not come true. But some he likes and state as “facts”. The book is from 2000-1, and he believes that oil prices will not go above 20-25$ a barrel, and backs his claims with some analysts forecasts. Ha! it’s funny to read that now, with oil price hovering over 70$.
He agrees that global warming is a problem, but he believes it will be too expensive to change to renewable energies. He doesn’t really mention the “positive” feedback theories I read in the “carbon war” book, and he claims that even if catastrophe happens, we should not buy an “insurance” now because, again, it is too expensive. He cliams that the move to renewable energies will cost us a lot of money. When he talks about the Ozone layer, he is happy to say we have solved the problem, and moving away from CFC “did not cost anything”. So maybe this will be the case with solar and wind?
The funniest part for me is that he cliams our rivers and beaches are “cleaner than ever”. I think he should come to israel, and swim in the Yarkon river, it might change his mind (if he survives).