Environmental skepticism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Environmental skepticism is an umbrella term that describes those that argue that particular claims put forward by environmentalists and environmental scientists are incorrect or exaggerated, along with those who are critical of environmentalism in general. The use of the term is contested. Supporters of environmentalists argue that "skepticism" implies an open-minded attitude to empirical evidence and that their opponents are in fact advocates for predetermined positions reflecting ideological commitments or financial interests.[1] Critics of environmental skepticism frequently use more pejorative terms such as denialism.
The popularity of the term was enhanced by Bjørn Lomborg's book The Skeptical Environmentalist.[2] Lomborg approached environmental claims from a statistical and economic standpoint, and concluded that often the claims made by environmentalists were overstated. Lomborg argued, on the basis of cost benefit analysis, that few environmentalist claims warranted serious concern.
Tom Bethell's Politically Incorrect Guide to Science extends environmental skepticism to a more general critique of scientific consensus.[3] Bethell rejects mainstream views on evolution and global warming and supports AIDS denialism.
[edit] See also
- Global warming controversy
- Silent Spring
- Genetically modified food controversies
- Global warming denial
[edit] References
- ^ 'Denial lobby' turns up the heat. Retrieved on 2008-02-07.
- ^ Lomborg, Bjørn; Bjorn Lomborg (2004). Global crises, global solutions. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-60614-4.
- ^ Bethell, Tom. The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science. Washington, D.C: Regnery Publishing. ISBN 0-89526-031-X.
[edit] Bibliography
- Bethell, Tom, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science, Washington, DC, Regnery Publishing, Inc., 2005 ISBN 0-89526-031-X
- Huber, Peter, Hard Green: Saving the Environment from the Environmentalists, New York, Basic Books, 2000 ISBN 0-465-03113-7
- Lomborg, Bjørn, The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World, Cambridge & New York, Cambridge University Press, 2001 ISBN 0-521-01068-3
- Mooney, Chris, The Republican War on Science, Basic Books. ISBN 0465046762.
- de Steiguer, J.E. 2006. The Origins of Modern Environmental Thought. The University of Arizona Press. Tucson. 246 pp.
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