Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
fair to say that Lomborg's views are com-
pletely out of step with the views of global
change scientists.
James Gustave Speth, dean of the Yale
School of Forestry and Environmental
Studies, notes that “for nearly a decade,
Bjørn Lomborg's climate-science rejec-
tionism has helped block serious political
action on greenhouse emissions.” In 2003
the Danish Committees on Scientific Dis-
honesty, organized under the nation's
Ministry of Science, cited
The Skeptical En-
vironmentalist
for data fabrication, cherry
picking, plagiarism, deliberate misinterpre-
tation, and use of misleading statistics. Be-
low are paraphrases of some of Lomborg's
statements about sea level rise.
the primary source of sea level rise later in
this century. Thus Lomborg attempts to
downplay the effect of sea level rise by ig-
noring the report as a whole.
myth
(cherry picking): Sea level will rise
thirty centimeters.
Lomborg sticks with
the projected rise in sea level of thirty
centimeters (one foot) by 2100, although
more than a dozen science panels around
the globe have projected a minimal rise of
one meter (three feet) by then. In addition,
the current rate of sea level rise as mea-
sured by both satellites and tide gauges is
greater than thirty centimeters (one foot)
per century.
myth
(strange opinion). The concern for
sea level rise is enhanced by society's biblical
fear of flooding.
Lomborg's point is that en-
vironmentalists and scientists are sound-
ing warnings about sea level rise more be-
cause of the ancient legends of floods than
because of hard evidence of potential im-
pacts. It is an absurdity.
The turnabout? In 2010 Lomborg pub-
lished a topic entitled
Smart Solutions to Cli-
mate Change
. In the pre-publication reviews
he is said to argue that global warming is a
major concern for the world and that $100
billion per year will be needed to fight cli-
mate change. This is a drop in the bucket of
global change response. The topic appears
to be a major reversal of opinion on Lom-
borg's part, but in reality the low figure of
$100 billion actually belittles the risks of
global change.
myth
(straw man): Contrary to common
statements, melting sea ice will not raise sea
level.
No scientist that we know believes
that melting sea ice (floating ice) on the
surface of the sea will contribute much to
sea level rise, and we have never seen this
“common” statement. Thus Lomborg mis-
leadingly rejects a proposition that is not
made by scientists. Lomborg's focus on
floating ice, rather than ice sheets, allows
him to minimize the dangers of sea level
rise.
myth
(misquotes): The ipcc report (2007)
estimated that sea level will rise a foot in the
twenty- first century.
True enough, but the
report pointed out that the one foot mid-
range number did not include ice sheet
melting, which the ipcc expects may be
