What do you think?
Rate this book
Through Green-Colored Glasses: Enviromentalism Reconsidered
A former member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution reveals the flaws in alarmist environmental movement arguments.
230 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1996
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 12, 2024
A PROPOSAL TO "STOP AND THINK," BEFORE TAKING DRASTIC ACTION
Wilfred Beckerman wrote in the Introduction to this 1996 book, "while it is quite right that we should continually seek to improve and implement policies that give due attention to the environment in particular, and to the interests of future generations in general, we should not be panicked into drastic action that would impose unnecessary burdens on the poorest sections of the present generation. The 'posh' global environmental concerns... should not be ignored, but we have time to think."
He notes that "Until the early 1970s I firmly believed that the environment was in serious danger as a result of defects in the market economy" (Pg. 6). He later admits, however, that "I cannot claim to have attempted here to write a fully balanced book." (Pg. 23) He also cautions that this book "is not a book about science. What matters here is what policy implications follow from the predicted climate change." (Pg. 100)
He facetiously comments, "millions of United States citizens ... have moved south or west in order to live in the warmer climates of California or Florida. Global warming could mean that future generations would not have to go to all the trouble!" (Pg. 106) He rejects those "deep ecologists" who reject the attempt to attach monetary values to the environment, preferring the " obscurantism of their mystical rhetoric." But he argues, "without some way of comparing alternatives rational choice seems impossible."
He concludes on the note, "In short, the message of this book is that we have time to think. What is needed is the will to do so." (Pg. 200)
This is a polemical book, but it can stimulate some thought among those concerned with environmental issues---particularly as they interact with economic ones.
Wilfred Beckerman wrote in the Introduction to this 1996 book, "while it is quite right that we should continually seek to improve and implement policies that give due attention to the environment in particular, and to the interests of future generations in general, we should not be panicked into drastic action that would impose unnecessary burdens on the poorest sections of the present generation. The 'posh' global environmental concerns... should not be ignored, but we have time to think."
He notes that "Until the early 1970s I firmly believed that the environment was in serious danger as a result of defects in the market economy" (Pg. 6). He later admits, however, that "I cannot claim to have attempted here to write a fully balanced book." (Pg. 23) He also cautions that this book "is not a book about science. What matters here is what policy implications follow from the predicted climate change." (Pg. 100)
He facetiously comments, "millions of United States citizens ... have moved south or west in order to live in the warmer climates of California or Florida. Global warming could mean that future generations would not have to go to all the trouble!" (Pg. 106) He rejects those "deep ecologists" who reject the attempt to attach monetary values to the environment, preferring the " obscurantism of their mystical rhetoric." But he argues, "without some way of comparing alternatives rational choice seems impossible."
He concludes on the note, "In short, the message of this book is that we have time to think. What is needed is the will to do so." (Pg. 200)
This is a polemical book, but it can stimulate some thought among those concerned with environmental issues---particularly as they interact with economic ones.
Displaying 1 of 1 review