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Mar 15, 2009

Manny rated it:

Many people have pointed out that the right to free speech doesn't mean that you are allowed to shout "Fire!" in a crowded theater. I suppose that what Lomborg is doing isn't quite as bad; the theater is on fire, and he's shouting "Sit down, there's nothing to worry about!" That may put him just on the right side of the line, but I still wish he wouldn't do it.

As everyone who's worked with science knows, if you cherry-pick your facts to favor only the most extrem More...

35 comments like (17 people liked it)

Feb 22, 2010

Anthony rated it:

Lomborg looks at global warming and the proposed solutions with the unflinching eye of an economist, and discovers that most of the hype and hysteria is unjustifiable, and that most of the political solutions offered will make things worse for future generations.

Lomborg is not a "climate change denier" - he fully accepts the IPCC consensus that global warming exists and is significantly caused by human activity. But that's where he parts company from most people who discuss More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 22, 2008

Scot rated it:

A conservative friend gave me this book for Christmas, saying it stimulated her book club to have a thoughtful discussion about the global warming debate.

Not wanting to condemn it without reading Lomborg's position first, I made a valiant effort to read this all the way through, but grew increasingly disturbed at the way he reduces, simplifies, and misrepresents the arguments of many committed environmentalists, as he offers a rather smug economist's reaction to the fact that globa More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

May 08, 2008

Alice rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 24, 2008

Chad rated it:

Lomborg's case was very poorly argued. He focused on certain things that were insignificant, such as the number of people who will die from heat waves as the climate changes. The fact that he wastes so much space of his small book on such a non-mainstream argument takes away from the validity of his case.

In the end, he claims that something should actually be done about climate change after he spends the whole book downplaying the need to do so.

However, it does teach the More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 20, 2008

Larry rated it:

Interesting book. Mr. Lomborg takes the science and applies statistical and economic methodology to it. Bottom line, the scare stories miss the point. Quite often they forget to give the other fact or more embaressing to look at the denominator. For example, about 5 times as many people die from cold than from heat related disease, etc. So warming saves lives. Rain increases so some areas do better others worse, but on the whole the world may do better. The amount of starvation may go up, More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 01, 2011

Michael rated it:

Excellent book about climate change, and the choices we face over the next century. Professor Lomborg is not a 'climate change denier' (a disparaging term coined by assholes whose moral vanity is matched only by their self-righteousness. For example of usage, see: Al Gore). Instead, he fully accepts the very clear science that tells us that the earth is warming, that humans bear some of the responsibility, and there will be negative consequences (increased flooding, more frequent and more powerf More...

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Aug 30, 2010

Brad rated it:

It's been a while since I read this book, a couple years now, but I quite enjoyed the read (though I didn't love the book and was nowhere near in full agreement).

I've always appreciated that Lomborg -- despite Rajendra Pachauri, head of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, likening him to Hitler -- was mostly trying to put all of the world's ills in perspective.

For Lomborg, at least back when he was writing Cool It, there were other issues of greater import More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 05, 2011

Erik rated it:

I didn't know it until pulling up the Wikipedia profile, but Lomborg is a controversial figure. This book is ostensibly an attempt to put the global warming problem into perspective, doing a cost/benefit analysis of dealing with the human contribution to that against other social and environmental problems. In his opinion, other, more pressing problems can and should be given a higher priority as they can be dealt with much more cost effectively. For now large investments should be made in ne More...

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Feb 17, 2009

Michelle rated it:

On my "most important reads of 2009" informal list at the moment. This little book is a tour de force of sound reasoning. I'm so glad I found it, as I had been prone to stomping up and down my house muttering "Moby Dick, Moby" Oh, no, wrong life. OK. Muttering "Cost-benefit analysis---why isn't anyone doing global warming cost-benefit analysis? Have we all collectively lost our minds?"
If you've ever been concerned about the environment but secretly bee More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 12, 2007

Daniel rated it:

Lomborg’s book on climate change is a mixed bag. I heartily agree with his major policy prescriptions: give more aid to alleviate poverty, enact a carbon tax to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and invest massively in low-carbon R&D. The slim book is otherwise disappointing: short on ideas, selective with facts, and cavalierly dismissive that climate change could prove worse than most expect.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 05, 2008

Brian rated it:

5 stars, not for the prose, but for Lomborg's presentation of the facts, and a solid analytical argument that cuts through the choreographed screaming to argue that the costs of Kyoto (and this book is about Kyoto, not global warming per se), are excessive, will leave us and future generations worse off, and will have no discernible impact on global climate change or the human condition.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 10, 2011

Peter rated it:

His books always appear to be soundly reasoned. He regularly argues along the lines that we have limited resources and governments and institutions need to spend in ways that result in the most good, and many of his prescriptions seem to be well-meaning. However, he has historically spent most of his time undermining responses to environmental issues and very little time encouraging governments to solve global issues in his supposedly more cost-effective ways. He also is incredibly selective in More...

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Oct 08, 2009

Jon rated it:

the title has two meanings: first, we need to cool the earth down literally (decrease global warming), and second, we're freaking out about it and that's bad. he believes that humanity is largely responsible for the global warming (although doesn't really back that opinion up - just says it's beyond debate), but takes an economist perspective on what we should do about it. his basic argument is that if the point of stopping global warming is to save human lives, then the most popular plans (like More...

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May 13, 2011

Longfellow rated it:

It’s been a long time since I finished a book I enjoyed so little. The truth is, I appreciate much of what Lomborg seems to say and I also appreciate the spirit in which he says it, but much of the time he just doesn’t say it very well. Write it, I should say. Should write.

What he has to share boils down to this: 1) the trend of rising temperatures does not spell the end of the world: the stated effects of global warming are not untrue, but they are much exaggerated: alarmist vocabula More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 09, 2008

Jill rated it:

An interesting read, which made me question the merits of the global warming hype. Then I learned about how he 'cherry picks' data and is the golden child of the right wing establishment - barf.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 21, 2011

Frank rated it:

No, the polar bears aren't going to go extinct. No, the seas are not going to rise and flood our cities, coastlands, and small island nations. No, the Gulf Stream is not going to stop and plunge Europe into Siberian cold. No, hurricanes are not getting more frequent or more intense. No, there will not be droughts and famines. Lomborg dispenses with all the hype, hysteria, and doom-saying in this slim volume (1/3 of its pages is bibliography and notes!)

Lomborg, an economist, argue More...

4 comments like

Jan 08, 2011

Sarah rated it:

Excellent book! Finally a book that cuts through the rhetoric on both sides of the climate change debate. Lomborg's first premise is that global warming is real and man-made. However, he deconstructs the ominous claims of the immediate consequences of global warming, using balanced research and a clear headed look at all the facts. Lomborg points out that so many have mistaken one proposed means for the end--the exclusive focus on reduction of greenhouse gasses. Our end is "to improve the q More...

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Sep 26, 2009

Logo rated it:

For those of us who don't dismiss global warming but feel there is a little more (or less) to it than Al Gore's rhetoric, THIS is the book.

Lomborg's tip for saving polar bears?
How about, if you are really worried about polar bear populations, instead of fretting about the 4 possible drowning deaths that COULD be related tenuously to global warning you get upset about the SIXTY polar bears a year that get shot!

I like his ideas, his suggestions, and his whole approach More...

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Aug 16, 2011

Alan rated it:

An intelligent well reasoned book on the complexities of climate change and what to do about it.
As a climate cynic it was a relief to read something that wasn't shrill apocalyptic hysteria. He asks some very challenging questions and puts forward provocative answers. He also shows a genuine concern for the developing world. Lomberg believes that global warming is a real and vital issue. What he doubts is whether most solutions being put forward will actually be acted on let alone work. May More...

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Jun 21, 2009

Allison rated it:

In Cool It, Lomborg points out the use of bad data and exaggerated conclusions in the popular discussion of global warming. While he does not deny that global warming exists, he suggests that the frantic, emotional response may not serve the earth's long term interests. Extensively researched and well-written, Lomborg shows that the world community would be better suited to put resources into other global problems rather than focusing on carbon emissions based resolutions such as those set fort More...

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Nov 05, 2008

Lostinanovel rated it:

I read this because it strikes me as odd how strongly people feel about what I consider to be a scientific problem. Why do average people (non scientists) get so emotional about an issue when he or she is so obviously ignorant about the science behind the theories? Seems like group-think to me so I wanted to explore. This was an interesting read, several ideas that I hadn’t considered. The author stresses that both sides of this debate sound crazy. Global warming isn’t some elaborate hoax but More...

11 comments like

Sep 04, 2008

Danelley rated it:

I am reading a selected portion of the book through the google book application. (Google, I love your applications! Keep up the good work.) Usually it's a LARGE selected portion, the first hundred pages or so. So don't worry about only having a chapter or so. Of course, by then you are HOOKED! And I end up buying or checking out the book anyway...

First, the Prologue is great! You can read it using the Google app, but here it some of it if you are feeling a little lazy today:
More...

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May 03, 2008

Deron rated it:

I had heard about this book on NPR when the author was interviewed. I was quite intrigued as I've always been rather skeptical of how bad climate change really is. I especially was skeptical after 20 minutes of watching Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" because I couldn't get past Al Gore's back-patting and self-involved persona in that first 20 minutes.

However, having been "the environmentalist" of my family insomuch I believe in recycling, not being wasteful, a More...

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Oct 10, 2007

Jeff rated it:

A provocative read. I'm a believer that human activity is resulting in a heating of the environment. I've been searching for coherent and/or credible 'contra' arguments.

Lomborg acknowledges that we're causing the environment to heat up, but argues that the response to this issue has been disproportionate and mis-guided. Basically, he argues that the cost/benefit of slowing down environmental CO2 is poor, and that these monies would be more effectively deployed in other activities More...

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Dec 04, 2007

Melody rated it:

This book provides the classic economist's take on the environment - the Kyoto protocol isn't economically sound. There are more economically effecient ways to help the environment.

In spite of his desire to help us find a more rational approach to how to solve the problems created by climate change, I think long term, he will only end up justifying the claims of those who want to do nothing about the state of the environment. I appreciate that Lomborg seems to believe that Global More...

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Mar 02, 2008

Myke rated it:

Don't get all pissed off cause I have a different view on global warming than the rest of the planet. This book reinforces my views on the climate and what the data is actually telling us. I don't listen to main steam media or Al Gore about how all of New York city could be under water, or how our children's children could live next to a boiling sea. It's all scare tactics, it's all to sell papers and whatever else is sponsoring the news that night..., and it's all crap. There are a billion thin More...

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Sep 08, 2009

Lynn rated it:

Best book on global warming I've read! Before dismissing this book, notice the title. Finally, a scientist who understands economics. If you ever have the opportunity to hear him debate the global warming fanatics, don't pass it up. Here's one debate:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story...
(Be sure to download the unedited debate - NPR may have a hard time understanding Bjorn's arguments)

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Sep 11, 2010

0rbytal rated it:

Lomborg provides very compelling reasons why humanity should NOT buy the "Climate Crisis" hype by succumbing to 'throwing money at the problem.' His convincing research helps the reader understand just how many more effective ways there are to improve quality of life around the globe INSTEAD of establishing or increasing taxes in order to combat the "impending climate crisis."

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Feb 25, 2011

Gordon rated it:

A short, but well-documented and highly persuasive book about global warming - arguing that, while it is a problem, there are more pressing problems facing the world that can save a lot more lives and create a lot more economic benefit. Reading this after reading "Merchants of Doubt" is like reading about two different worlds - it's hard to know which one to believe, but Lomborg is pretty persuasive. Some of his statements seem a bit on the glib side, but he is definitely not a global More...

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