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False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet
Audible Audiobook
– Unabridged
An “essential” (Times UK) and “meticulously researched” (Forbes) book by “the skeptical environmentalist” argues that panic over climate change is causing more harm than good
Hurricanes batter our coasts. Wildfires rage across the American West. Glaciers collapse in the Arctic. Politicians, activists, and the media espouse a common message: climate change is destroying the planet, and we must take drastic action immediately to stop it. Children panic about their future, and adults wonder if it is even ethical to bring new life into the world.
Enough, argues bestselling author Bjorn Lomborg. Climate change is real, but it’s not the apocalyptic threat that we’ve been told it is. Projections of Earth’s imminent demise are based on bad science and even worse economics. In panic, world leaders have committed to wildly expensive but largely ineffective policies that hamper growth and crowd out more pressing investments in human capital, from immunization to education. In a new epilogue, Lomborg brings the story up to date, showing the ineffective and costly environmental policies of the Biden administration.
False Alarm will convince you that everything you think about climate change is wrong. It points the way toward making the world a vastly better, if slightly warmer, place for us all.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
- Listening Length9 hours and 1 minute
- Audible release dateJuly 14, 2020
- LanguageEnglish
- ASINB08BLW7RNV
- VersionUnabridged
- Program TypeAudiobook
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Product details
Listening Length | 9 hours and 1 minute |
---|---|
Author | Bjorn Lomborg |
Narrator | Jim Seybert |
Whispersync for Voice | Ready |
Audible.com Release Date | July 14, 2020 |
Publisher | Basic Books |
Program Type | Audiobook |
Version | Unabridged |
Language | English |
ASIN | B08BLW7RNV |
Best Sellers Rank |
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Customer reviews
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers appreciate this book's well-presented analysis of climate change, finding it insightful and easy to understand. The writing is clear and the book offers practical solutions, with one customer noting how it realistically details paths forward. Customers value its sober approach, with one review highlighting how it removes emotional hysteria.
AI Generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers appreciate the book's well-presented analysis of climate change, describing it as a common-sense approach that provides great insight into the global warming issue.
"...The list of ideas here are endlessly fascinating: emitting sulfur dioxide, storing energy in molten salt, creating new types of nuclear reactors,..." Read more
"...leans to the political left, this is a surprisingly and refreshingly objective analysis of the climate change agenda from that ideological position...." Read more
"...It takes a rational, detached and unemotional view of climate change, and attempts to negate the hysteria caused by those who want to benefit from..." Read more
"...But other than those minor quibbles, the book is a useful refutation of a lot of the drivel the public is so regularly subjected to." Read more
Customers find the book thought-provoking, describing it as an eye-opener that presents facts in a way that informs lay readers and is full of common sense.
"...The list of ideas here are endlessly fascinating: emitting sulfur dioxide, storing energy in molten salt, creating new types of nuclear reactors,..." Read more
"...provides an excellent analysis of the climate change grift with an objective and fact-based presentation based on numbers and real-world data...." Read more
"This is the most sensible book on climate change. It takes a rational, detached and unemotional view of climate change, and attempts to negate the..." Read more
"...of high quality is that the subject of climate change, and all of associated sub-topics, are well researched...." Read more
Customers find the book very readable and worth a careful read, describing it as an excellent though-provoking work.
"...The 16 paragraphs comprise 222 pages. What also makes this book of high quality is that the subject of climate change, and all of associated sub-..." Read more
"I really enjoyed the book but I feel like the author didn’t really dive into who will be collecting the carbon tax and what exactly the carbon tax..." Read more
"...from Amazon and got it from Barnes and nobles instead, but what a fascinating read...." Read more
"This book is interesting because Bjorn Lomborg basically takes everything the UN IPCC says as gospel (which I do NOT agree with) but then goes on to..." Read more
Customers find the book well written and easy to read.
"I bought the hard cover version of the book. I found the prose to be clear and very well written. It’s an easy read and the paragraphs are short...." Read more
"Finally, a well researched, well written book that clearly states that sanity, not fear-mongering, should be applied to anthropogenic climate change..." Read more
"Extremelly well written, it brings facts to light which are overlooked or overstated by the current narrative...." Read more
"...This book is well written with facts supported by empirical evidence documented by qualified professionals who disregard the political and media..." Read more
Customers appreciate the book's practical solutions, with one customer highlighting its common sense approach to addressing climate change.
"...climate change is, what is happening and what are the real and useful solutions needed in order to mitigate the effects of climate change...." Read more
"...Solutions are offered. Except for the final chapter, political issues and decisions were avoided...." Read more
"...in real terms, placing the issue in context, and offers real solutions that help real people." Read more
"...issue and then does the work to quantify the problem, proposed solutions and associated opportunity costs." Read more
Customers appreciate the book's sober and nonhysterical approach.
"Finally, a well researched, well written book that clearly states that sanity, not fear-mongering, should be applied to anthropogenic climate change..." Read more
"A refreshingly sober, but realistic assessment of the cost of climate change and what can be done about it...." Read more
"...The author uses established statistics and removes emotional hysteria and creates a sound workable strategy...." Read more
"A common sense, nonhysterical approach to addressing man made global warning...." Read more
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There is hope
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2020Format: KindleVerified PurchaseAnyone familiar with Bjorn Lomborg will know he believes that any climate change mitigation comes at a cost and that we should analyze that cost versus potential benefits. Lomborg seems to use widely available information, mostly from the United Nations. I cannot attest to the accuracy of his numbers but, even if remotely correct, it seems like we should heed his advice. However, I fear that only louder, more hysterical Scandinavians will be listened too.
In reviewing literature that ran counter to this book's claims, I could only find criticism by a Jeremy Grantham-backed think tank. Grantham himself seems to be a neo-Malthusian so I am skeptical of his views as well as the terseness of the ripostes so far written. However, of course, we should not be dogmatic if better work does come out.
My Summary of This Important Work:
The public's current perception of climate change is based on ill-informed fear. The media prints the scariest sounding narratives, scientists get funding for apocalyptic sounding research needs, and politicians push budget busting subsidies doled out to favored constituents. As a result, four in ten in the US believe global warming will lead to mankind's extinction and persistent peddlers of pessimism such as Prince Charles and Al Gore ignore their own previously wrong prognostications to issue new, phony predictions.
These predictions never seem to come to fruition. Oil prices are very low as well as a slate of other finite commodities. Heating of the planet has extended longevity (heat causes .5% of deaths vs the 7% of cold), has led to a greening of the planet and has seen some islands actually gain land area through coral erosion. The severity and number of hurricanes, flooding, droughts ("globally, the number of consecutive dry days has been declining for the last ninety years") are flat or declining. Even if there is now more developed areas to be destroyed during natural events, the fact that people are richer and have better housing means the costs keep decreasing. Polar bears, nature's symbol of the toll of global warming, are seeing a population increase after hunting regulations were implemented and they seem well placed to survive an era of warmer weather like they have in previous periods. The UN Climate Panel itself stated, "for most economic sectors, the impact of climate change will be small relative to the impacts of other drivers." Even agriculture is estimated by the UN's FAO to see grain production increase but just by a little less than it would have with no temperature rise (44% vs 41%).
Politicians excel at making bold commitments not whetted in reality. New Zealand proclaimed a zero emission country by 2020 but failed to even reduce emissions. Not deterred, a predecessor has made similar commitments by 2050, promises that would cost 16% of GDP to just reach half of these ambitions. This is not unique to the Kiwis as Japan, Mexico and South Korea are all vastly missing their targets. The US was no where near meeting its obligations under the Paris Agreement even before the current administration's roll backs. China has tripled emissions since 2000. Even a complete rich world ban on emissions would not effect temperatures in the near term. Overall, the Paris Agreement would cost more $1 trillion / year to implement by 2030 and have a very muted impact on overall temperatures. And the one country who has reduced carbon emission the most, the US, did it with no adherence to the agreement as fracking natural gas has taken off.
Its important to remember the effect of policies on the poor. The poorer classes in rich countries tend to live in more remote areas and must spend more of their income on fuel costs. Germany's energy costs have doubled over the past two decades as they have shifted to renewables. Insisting that developing countries do not develop seems cruel and unethical. This leads to the Schelling Conjecture: getting richer is probably better for the world's poor than focusing on emissions. Lomborg notes:
Expanding immunization and curbing tuberculosis, improving access to modern contraception, ensuring better
nutrition and more education, reducing energy poverty—all of these are well within our power and, if we
focused on them, could alleviate suffering for huge swaths of the world’s population right now.
What should be done?
We should tax emissions in line with Nordhaus' DICE model that balances economic growth and development with a muting of the worst case climate scenarios. That means a seven degree rise by 2100 at a cost of global GDP of 2.9% (noting GDP will be much larger at that point).
We should avoid favoring certain renewables: the IEA estimates that by 2040 after $4 trillion has been spent, solar and wind will only account for 5% of global energy. We subsidize electric cars for about $10k per car yet get only $48 in carbon reduction (as measured by RGGI prices). Its also important to note that renewables could also mean wood which may be worse of the environment.
We should understand the rebound effect: that certain efforts to save carbon by reducing consumption may mean we consume in other more carbon-intensive ways.
We should adjust: both Bangladesh and Holland are vulnerable to flooding but the Dutch have mastered mitigation. Sea levels have already risen about a foot over the past 150 years. Coastal defenses such dikes, increasing sand on beaches, and things like NYC's sea walls and storm barriers protect coastline. Use of reservoirs and curtailing irrigation during droughts, air conditioning purchases in warming areas, removing wood near homes, and painting rooftops that significantly cool cities should all be done.
We should invest in green technologies and geoengineering. This is where this book is at its most interesting and most speculative. Each dollar invested in green technology could avoid $11 of climate change. Each dollar invested in geoengineering could see $2,000 worth of gains. The list of ideas here are endlessly fascinating: emitting sulfur dioxide, storing energy in molten salt, creating new types of nuclear reactors, air capture, making clouds whiter and seawater spraying boats are all mentioned.
- Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2024The author, Lomborg, provides an excellent analysis of the climate change grift with an objective and fact-based presentation based on numbers and real-world data. While the author does believe in man-caused climate change via CO2, he admits that it is nowhere near the problem the grifters are making it out to be. One after another he addresses with real world data the climate change mantra from increased wildfires to flooding and the polar ice caps melting and shows in detail how these problems are being blown way out of proportion by charlatans and propagandists. While he believes CO2 is a problem, it's not THE problem...he does not let his ideology get in the way of presenting real facts that expose the climate grift for what it is - a grift and a con. While Lomborg leans to the political left, this is a surprisingly and refreshingly objective analysis of the climate change agenda from that ideological position. Lomborg shows how the world is not going to end in 12 years (or 500 years) so everyone can just calm down and spend a couple days reading this book to bring some context and perspective to the discussion. Lomborg assures us the climate is changing, and it has been for millions of years. We're all going to be okay, and we should step back and examine the real-world problems associated with it rather than just fixating on some nebulous carbon dioxide levels we can't affect, because those real-world problems are something we can fix...and should.
- Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2021Format: HardcoverVerified PurchaseLomborg catalogs much that is wrong with climate alarmism and our current climate policies. In short, he readily agrees that climate change is influenced by humans and that it has negative costs. Yet, he argues persuasively that the costs are vastly overstated by our innumerate media, self-serving rent seeking clean tech corporatists, and jet-setting political demagogues who don't really seem to care about the world's poor or even their own citizens if they can seize more power and money for themselves at everyone else's expense. He essentially labels them fittingly the climate-industrialist complex (page 216). He lays out a sensible approach to mitigating the impact of climate change over time involving carbon trading, adaptation, innovation, and possibly, geoengineering (which doesn't seem inconsistent with Bill Gates's new book although Gates sees the problem as more serious). Obviously, in a short book like this he has to leave a lot of questions unanswered. Some that come to mind: (1) how do you prevent cheating in carbon trading? (2) how should we think about species extinctions and coral reef damage (most economists recognize that GDP is just one measure of well being but not the end of story)? (3) will the increasing technological knowhow to address climate change and otherwise promote growth also lead to more wars and conflict?
Update: Having now read both this book and the Gates book, this one seems more grounded in economics and tradeoffs. Gates goes a little deeper into the technology in general but falls short of Lomborg in exploring both the potential for adaptation as well as understanding the positives from global warming that reduce the net harm to a degree. My view was the books really have a lot in common brought in by applying mainstream economics and engineering to address climate change.
Climate science and sustainability experts who don't affirmatively address this mainstream and more tradeoff oriented thinking risk groupthink as well as getting typecast, fairly or unfairly, as insular elitists. The numerous ad hominem attacks in the reviews of both books attest to the fact that this is unfortunately the "go to" approach for some. That doesn't mean they need to agree with the arguments made in these books but they do need to at least address them with real facts and counterarguments.
Top reviews from other countries
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Ralf T.Reviewed in Germany on January 2, 2025
5.0 out of 5 stars Wichtig und richtig.
Format: HardcoverVerified PurchaseWir haben keine KlimaKrise und das sollte jeder selbst bemerken, wer die Aussagen de Klima-Sekte der letzten 30 Jahre verfolgt, die sich immer in Luft auflösen. Mit manipulierten Daten lassen sich Menschen nur kurzfristig täuschen, dann durchschauen sie das.
Wissenschaftlich und anhand von Fakten wird nicht nur mit der KlimaHysterie aufgeräumt, sondern auch dargelegt, wie die Menschheit mit dem ganzen eingesetzten Geld, deutlich größere Vorteile und Fortschritt erzielen kann, als die Wälder für Windräder abzuholzen und einige wenige reich zu machen.
Absolut lesenswert, auch um Argumentationspunkte und Fakten für die Diskussion mit der Klima-Freundin und Soja-Sören zu haben.
- Peter Thejll-MollerReviewed in Italy on October 28, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Green politicians be aware
Politicians both to the left and right should read this: How to improve lives for the poor in Africa and Asia
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MichaelReviewed in Sweden on March 8, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Det alla borde känna till
Kunskap i detta område är viktigt då det florerar så mycket alarmism på tveksamma grunder, och förslag på mycket ineffektiva och kostsamma åtgärder som inte leder till en bättre värld.
- NCReviewed in Australia on April 2, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful analysis
This book is a great read, balancing the costs of climate change with the costs of various ways of addressing it, using the UN’s data. It’d be great if policy makers everywhere absorbed its contents.
- Rahul ChaudhryReviewed in India on October 24, 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars Reality Check
Format: HardcoverVerified PurchaseEye opening. Puts a reality Check on the Climet Change drama.
The book has changed me. Thank you