The skeptical environmentalist : measuring the real state of the world / Bjørn Lomborg.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lomborg, Bjørn, 1965- author.

Standardized Title:

Verdens sande tilstand. English

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Global environmental change.

Pollution.

Human ecology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxiii, 515 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2001.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The Skeptical Environmentalist challenges widely held beliefs that the environmental situation is getting worse and worse. The author, himself a former member of Greenpeace, is critical of the way in which many environmental organisations make selective and misleading use of the scientific evidence. Using the best available statistical information from internationally recognised research institutes, Bjørn Lomborg systematically examines a range of major environmental problems that feature prominently in headline news across the world. His arguments are presented in non-technical, accessible language and are carefully backed up by over 2500 footnotes allowing readers to check sources for themselves. Concluding that there are more reasons for optimism than pessimism, Bjørn Lomborg stresses the need for clear-headed prioritisation of resources to tackle real, not imagined problems. The Skeptical Environmentalist offers readers a non-partisan stocktaking exercise that serves as a useful corrective to the more alarmist accounts favoured by campaign groups and the media.

Contents:

PART I: THE LITANY: Things are getting better

Why do we hear so much bad news?

PART II: HUMAN WELFARE: Measuring human welfare

Life expectancy and health

Food and hunger

Prosperity

Conclusion to Part II; Unprecedented human prosperity

PART III: CAN HUMAN PROSPERITY CONTINUE? : Are we living on borrowed time?

Will we have enough food?

Forests: are we losing them?

Energy

Non-energy resources

Water

Conclusion to part III; Continued prosperity

PART IV: POLLUTION: DOES IT UNDERCUT HUMAN PROSPERITY? : Air pollution

Acid rain and forest death

Indoor air pollution

Allergies and asthma

Water pollution

Waste: running out of space?

Conclusion to part IV: The pollution burden has diminished

PART V: TOMORROW'S PROBLEMS: Our chemical fears

Biodiversity

Global warming

PART VI: THE REAL STATE OF THE WORLD: Predicament or progress?

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references (p. [435]-505) and index.

ISBN:

1-139-88297-X

1-139-63688-X

1-139-64817-9

1-299-40574-6

1-139-63868-8

1-139-64914-0

1-139-64152-2

1-139-63534-4

1-139-62637-X

OCLC:

831120990