Gore's Climate Crusade Misguided, Wasteful

By Harry Kimball, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 15, 2009 3:40 PM CDT

(Newser) – Global warming is real, but Al Gore’s crusade to curb carbon emissions is misguided and will squander money that could be applied cheaply and efficiently to those problems now, Danish statistician Bjørn Lomborg writes in Esquire. “Here’s the truth: There are better, more cost-effective ways to fight global warming,” Lomborg writes. And “the solutions have very little to do with cutting CO2 emissions.”

“We will never succeed in making fossil fuels so expensive that they become unappealing,” Lombord writers of carbon taxes. Rather, new, clean technologies should get funding. As for the specters of disease and famine Gore raises, Lomborg has cheap solutions: Bug nets. Iron supplements. “Every time the Gore solution of CO2 reduction saves one person from dying from malaria in the future, the same money could save 36,000 people today.”

[Images (5)]

[Quotes (2)]

The Schwarze Pumpe coal power plant in Spremberg, eastern Germany. (AP Photo)

Environmental activists abseil down the side of a smokestack after painting "Stop CO2" on the side of the chimney of the coal-fired power plant in Belchatow, Poland. (AP Photo)

Sunflower Electric Cooperative's coal-fired power plant in Holcomb, Kan. (AP Photo)

Former US vice president Al Gore wipes sweat off as Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd speaks during a joint press conference in Sydney. (AP Photo)

Danish statistician Bjorn Lomborg. (AP Photo)

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If we spent $800 billion over the next ninety years solely on the Gore solution of mitigating carbon emissions, we would rein in temperature increases by just 0.3 degrees by the end of this century.
- Bjørn Lomborg

Germany is the leading consumer of solar panels and will end up spending about $150 billion on them, yet the effect will be to delay global warming by one hour by the end of the century. - Bjørn Lomborg

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 20 comments

thirdherd

Jul 16, 2009 11:52 AM CDT

I prefer to look at it this way. We are holding back the next ice age. Go mankind go.

bewilderbeast

Jul 16, 2009 11:08 AM CDT

The point most people miss is this: Climate change does not threaten the planet at all. It threatens us and our way of life. Planet Earth will happily chug on at many degrees warmer or colder than now; With sea levels much higher or lower than now. In just a few million years the balance will swing back the other way. Even WE won't suffer. Our damage will only affect our kids and grandkids. They will not be comfortable, and they will live in a less interesting world, diversity-wise. So we should be doing less damage than we are, I say. If only for our conscience's sake.

hamsammichs

Jul 16, 2009 6:47 AM CDT

people are you taking notes here? kg, this is why I come to newser you beautiful man.

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Esquire (Source Grid »)

climate change • Al Gore • global warming • carbon offsets • malaria • famine • humanitarian aid • carbon emissions • Bjorn Lomborg

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