- Hardcover: 272 pages
- Publisher: Knopf; 1 edition (Sep 4 2007)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0307266923
- ISBN-13: 978-0307266927
- Product Dimensions: 13 x 3.8 x 19.7 cm
- Shipping Weight: 340 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#107,865 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #43 in Books > Science > Earth Sciences > Climatology > Climate Changes
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Lomborg, a political scientist and economist with a conservative approach to environmentalism, presents a work that's likely to garner as much acclaim and disdain as his first book, 2001's The Skeptical Environmentalist. This "Guide to Global Warming," while thoroughly referenced and convincingly argued, ignores many climate studies and assumes that climate change will continue at a steady rate (not necessarily the case). From this vantage, Lomborg suggests workable solutions beyond "hysteria and headlong spending," proposing a tax on CO2 "at the economically correct level of about two dollars per ton, or maximally fourteen dollars per ton" and that "all nations should commit themselves to spending 0.05 percent of GDP in R&D of noncarbon-emitting energy technologies." Gross simplification, however, leads to misleading generalizations and questionable arguments, such as Lomborg's claim that a reduction in global cold weather-related deaths that outweighs the rising number of heat-related deaths means global warming is good for humanity. Though he argues passionately, Lomborg's efforts seem more about pushing his opponents' buttons than facing honestly the complexities of global climate change.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
“Brimming with useful facts and common sense. . . . [Lomborg presents] a calm analysis of what today’s best science tells us about global warming and its risks. . . . His analysis is smart and refreshing, and it may bridge at least one divide in our too divided culture.” —Kimberley Strassel, Wall Street Journal
“Cool It is a highly valuable contribution to the climate-policy literature. In clear and concise prose, Lomborg diagnoses the problems plaguing contemporary climate policy, injecting a needed tonic of realism and common sense into the climate debate. And for that very reason, it is sure to make Lomborg’s critics hot-under-the-collar.” —Jonathan Adler, National Review
“A reasoned addition to the debate about what to do about climate change. And it is sure to provoke just as much controversy as his last book.” —Esquire
“Bjorn Lomborg is the best-informed and most humane advocate for environmental change in the world today. . . . [He] is only interested in real problems, and he has no patience with media fear-mongering. . . . In the end, his ability to put climate in a global perspective is perhaps the book’s greatest value. Lomborg and Cool It are our best guides to our shared environmental future.” —Michael Crichton, Amazon.com
“Bjorn Lomborg’s rational and compassionate suggestions would save more lives, preserve more wilderness and have a better chance of eventually halting man-made global warming than hysterical catastrophism, global treaties, and high-minded energy rationing. Read this ingenious book.” —Matt Ridley, author of The Origins of Virtue
“Lomborg affirms that the planet is warming, but questions why so much of the policy debate is framed around the idea of imminent catastrophe. This book dares to offer straightforward new thinking about how best to respond. Indispensable.” —Clive Crook, associate editor, Financial Times; senior editor, The Atlantic Monthly
“At last we have a book that puts the hype of global warming into perspective. Bjorn Lomborg’s eye-opening book, Cool It, examines and meticulously documents climate change’s effects and proposed solutions. An extraordinarily timely and supremely useful book.” —John Naisbitt, author of Megatrends
“Brilliant! A devastating critique of the prevailing climate change hysteria. This book provides an overwhelming case for re-assessing where exactly our policy priorities should lie if we are genuinely concerned with world welfare rather than with making noble—if futile—gestures that, at best, make us feel good but actually do a lot of harm.” —Wilfred Beckerman, professor emeritus of economics, Oxford University
“Cool It is a highly valuable contribution to the climate-policy literature. In clear and concise prose, Lomborg diagnoses the problems plaguing contemporary climate policy, injecting a needed tonic of realism and common sense into the climate debate. And for that very reason, it is sure to make Lomborg’s critics hot-under-the-collar.” —Jonathan Adler, National Review
“A reasoned addition to the debate about what to do about climate change. And it is sure to provoke just as much controversy as his last book.” —Esquire
“Bjorn Lomborg is the best-informed and most humane advocate for environmental change in the world today. . . . [He] is only interested in real problems, and he has no patience with media fear-mongering. . . . In the end, his ability to put climate in a global perspective is perhaps the book’s greatest value. Lomborg and Cool It are our best guides to our shared environmental future.” —Michael Crichton, Amazon.com
“Bjorn Lomborg’s rational and compassionate suggestions would save more lives, preserve more wilderness and have a better chance of eventually halting man-made global warming than hysterical catastrophism, global treaties, and high-minded energy rationing. Read this ingenious book.” —Matt Ridley, author of The Origins of Virtue
“Lomborg affirms that the planet is warming, but questions why so much of the policy debate is framed around the idea of imminent catastrophe. This book dares to offer straightforward new thinking about how best to respond. Indispensable.” —Clive Crook, associate editor, Financial Times; senior editor, The Atlantic Monthly
“At last we have a book that puts the hype of global warming into perspective. Bjorn Lomborg’s eye-opening book, Cool It, examines and meticulously documents climate change’s effects and proposed solutions. An extraordinarily timely and supremely useful book.” —John Naisbitt, author of Megatrends
“Brilliant! A devastating critique of the prevailing climate change hysteria. This book provides an overwhelming case for re-assessing where exactly our policy priorities should lie if we are genuinely concerned with world welfare rather than with making noble—if futile—gestures that, at best, make us feel good but actually do a lot of harm.” —Wilfred Beckerman, professor emeritus of economics, Oxford University
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Most helpful customer reviews
17 of 25 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The other side of the story,
By PNH "PNH" (Toronto, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide to Global Warming (Hardcover)
Everything E. Haensel said in his or her review except the opposite.I do not know if everything Lomborg says is accurate. What I do know is that there is a great deal of hype and exaggeration from the purveyors of climate change catastrophe, including Al Gore. As an economist, Lomborg is highly qualified to talk of the economic reality of various options in dealing with climate change. His basic conclusion is that there are better ways to deal with the real threats of warming and that the benefits of warming are left out of the arguments put forward by the purveyors of catastrophe--many of whom have a vested interest in exaggerating cause, effect and the impact of solutions like Kyoto. Furthermore, worst case scenarios are the best route to getting research on climate funding maxed out for those whose scientific interest lies in this area of study. This is a book you should read if you are interested in getting another perspective.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Excellent, Logical Viewpoint that Isn't Voiced Often Enough,
By
This review is from: Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide to Global Warming (Paperback)
This is one of the few books that I think everyone should read. Global warming has become such an incredibly irrational issue, and this book brings a rational, objective voice to the debate. Basically, this book is meant to cool everyone's temper on the issue (hence the name 'Cool It'), and provide logical solutions to the problem.Lomborg's main argument is the following: global warming is caused at least partially by humans, but dealing with it by means of extreme CO2 cuts it not a viable solution. Instead, he argues that using our world's resources to solve other world problems, such as disease and poverty, will have an incredibly larger benefit to the world in the long-term, and will in turn put us in a better position to deal with a world that is slightly warmer than it is now. He argues that we should continue making our technology more environmentally-friendly, but that suddenly making all technology have no environmental impact (as some environmentalists want) is completely unreasonable. In addition, Lomborg argues that the effects of global warming will not be nearly as apocalyptic as most media sources would have us believe, and hence completely preventing the slight temperature increases that it will bring is not necessary. Lomborg supports his position with a tremendous amount of evidence, cost-benefit analyses, and references. To give an idea of how much his argument is supported, this book has 164 pages of actual content, and there are approximately 450 citations and 400 references. Of course I can't browse through all of them to see how valid they are, but of the few dozen that I checked they seemed quite reliable. However, there are some claims that I found somewhat hard to believe, such as what is predicted by the various models of climate and human condition that Lomborg references. For example, Lomborg claims that humans will be richer in general over the coming century, which I find somewhat believable, but I find it hard to believe the precise numbers that he gives from the models of the worldwide economy that he references. As I mentioned, I recommend this book to EVERYONE. You might not believe all the claims made in the book, but it definitely provides an excellent viewpoint on the subject. The book is short enough to be accessible to almost anyone, yet it doesn't miss any important aspect of the issue.
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Pragmatic Approach!,
By
This review is from: Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide to Global Warming (Paperback)
This book provides a pragmatic discussion and approach on the issue of global warming. The science of global warming and the issues are presented in layman's terms, without emotion and without creating a state of fear. The author provides a measured prespective that informs and allows for a reasonable and consider discussion.
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