Lomborg- The Skeptical Environmentalist
1. What was Rachel Carson's book about?
2. According the Lomborg, should we be concerned that more people per 100,000 are dying of cancer? What is the proper way to measure cancer deaths?
3. According to the cancer researchers Doll and Peto, which causes more cancer: diet or pollution?
4. According to Table 6- how many documented extinctions have there been since the year 1600? What percentage of known species is that?
5. Name at least two of the benefits of increased CO2 emissions that are listed by Lomborg?
6. What are some of the issues in climate science that make it difficult to accurately predict how CO2 will affect temperature? For instance, as CO2 causes higher temperatures, there may be more water vapor in the air which could amplify the heating process.
7. What is the range of predicted increases in temperature that result from a doubling of atmospheric CO2 (in degrees Celsius)?
8. Lomborg makes a claim in the section "The Double Dividend: Improve the Environment and Make Money." What does he claim about the optimal tax on CO2?
Progress or Predicament
1. Why does Lomborg think that overstating environmental problems is dangerous?
2. Rank the following problems from most severe to least severe using the data provided by the World Health Organization (WHO): tobacco, water and sanitation, air pollution, malnutrition.
3. What are Genetically Modified (GM) foods? What benefits can they provide?
4. [Opinion] Now that you have read the book, does Lomborg convince you of his propositions? Do you think the last 15 years of data will support his conclusions or invalidate them?