False Alarm
by Bjørn Lomborg · first published 2020
50% recommend50% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Argues that climate policy costs and alarmist framing deserve scrutiny, using cost comparisons of different responses to climate change; suits readers who want a counterweight to apocalyptic narratives.
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…supremacism isn’t a moral claim, but a pragmatic stance: of course we prioritize our own species. We are team human. As for whether we're destroying the planet, it's a complex picture. I'd recommend False Alarm by Bjorn Lomborg, it pushes back against overly apocalyptic assumptions and argues that while climate change is real and serious, we're not necessarily headed for collapse. Doesn't excuse inaction, but…
…on how society should be run to avoid catastrophe. Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All by Michael Shellenberger https://www.amazon.com/Apocalypse-Never-Environmental-Alarmi... False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet by Bjorn Lomborg https://www.amazon.com/False-Alarm-Climate-Change-Trillions/... Unsettled (Updated and Expanded…
on “'Point of no return': New Orleans relocation must start now due to sea level” ↗An enlightening book I read on this topic is "False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet" by Bjorn Lomborg. The book explores the cost of: doing nothing to fight climate change vs doing everything to…
on “Inaction on Climate Change Could Cost the US Economy $14.5T by 2070” ↗…believable prognoses on things like war, natural phenomena, changing climate and its ramifications and more. Get some books on the subject - Michael Shellenberger's "Apocalypse Never", Bjørn Lomborg's "False Alarm", Steven Koonin's "Unsettled" and read up on the facts and fictional narratives around the subject of the changing climate. If you are not in panic-mode they are far less likely to be pulled into the…
on “Reducing the risk of nuclear war should be a key concern of our generation” ↗…millions of Americans, and I hope my bank is funding businesses based on their solvency, not a political agenda. The people who want to eliminate fossil fuels should read a book such as Bjorn Lomborg's "False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet" (2020).
on “Check if your bank is funding the fossil fuel industry” ↗…said, true for Russia and, yes, Canada. Get off the panic porn and broaden your mind. Read some other authors, e.g. Schellenberger's Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All, Lomborg's False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet, Koonin's Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn't, and Why It Matters just to name a few. Read…
on “Dodge Is Cancelling the Hemi V8” ↗Also have heard folks make an argument that it's more economical to plan to live in the post-climate changed world than to stop climate change. See https://www.amazon.com/False-Alarm-Climate-Change-Trillions/...
on “It’s official: July was Earth’s hottest month on record” ↗Bjorn still has quite the following. Skeptics often refer to him. He’s also still writing new books that are still popular: https://www.amazon.com/False-Alarm-Climate-Change-Trillions/... In fact, others have realized there’s a market: https://www.amazon.com/Unsettled-Climate-Science-Doesnt-Matt...
on “Climate change is not the end of the world” ↗This is not my field and I am genuinely curious, are we fucked or not? I just listened to a 3 hour podcast from Lex Fridman with these guests: “Bjørn Lomborg is author of "False Alarm". Andrew Revkin is a climate journalist (21 years at NY Times).” They refute many of the claims in this article about how much of a doomsday event faces us. Are they full of shit? Is this article sensationalist?…
on “The Uninhabitable Earth (2017)” ↗…https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerpielke/2019/11/26/us-hurri... [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_cyclone [4] https://www.washington.edu/news/2004/05/06/troposphere-warmi... [5] https://www.emdat.be [6] Bjorn Lomborg, False Alarm, Basic Books, NY, 2020. [7] https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/03/WG1AR5_Summa... [8] https://rogerpielkejr.com/2019/01/17/global-tropical-cyclone...
on “Expert predicts a major hurricane hitting Houston would be “America’s Chernobyl”” ↗The conclusion I draw is that draconian regulations and taxes to lessen global warming are not worth it. Economist Bjorn Lomborg has written books about this, the latest being "False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet" (2020).
on “Covid lockdowns will only lower 2050 temperatures by 0.01C, predicts UN” ↗…but it is worth the time to read the actual reports themselves - you can also read a few other sources, e.g. Schellenberger's Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All, Björn Lomborg's False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet and Steve Koonin's Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn't, and Why It Matters. These give a…
on “World’s largest battery maker announces major breakthrough in energy density” ↗…happening, at least in part. Instead, it seems to have become a tribal meme/disinformation war. Here is one person who advocates some for improvements to the nature of the conversation: "Bjorn Lomborg: False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions And Fails To Fix The Planet" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl9rTxdSZWg > Bjorn Lomborg is a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution. Dr. Bjorn Lomborg…
on “Orthodox Privilege” ↗