Don’t panic- Bjorn Lomborg will save us all.
Bjorn Lomborg is a Danish author and academic and likely most famous for his book “The Skeptical Environmentalist”. His book was quite controversial at the time of release as it seemed to have a rebuttal to every climate change argument out there. Food security? No worries, GM technology will save us. Over-population? No big deal- natural selection will keep population levels manageable. Lomborg also argued that many of the future forecasts about the effects of climate change were unsubstantiated.
I remember when I went to university, Lomborg was the person we all loved to hate. He was the villain in environmental sciences; he had views perfect for arguing in essays at uni. He held one of the most prominent and outspoken views on climate change.
Lomborg has never actually denied that global warming is a real and true phenomenon, but his ideas that technology, innovation and natural selection will solve most of the world’s problems did not sit well with the mainstream environmental movement. His ways of speaking up, against mainstream opinion at times felt heroic, however, there was still something unsettling about Lomborg’s findings.
In August of this year, breaking news reported that Lomborg, faced with the severity of threats from climate change, has jumped on the mainstream environmental movement bandwagon and has big ideas of how to sort out the planet. The former skeptic is now the poster child for the answer to climate adaptation and mitigation. A person with so much conviction has changed the rhythm of his drum. You have to admit, it makes for a great PR stunt for lots of media attention, conveniently timed with the release of his new film (the trailer is above).
Coming soon is Lomborg’s film, deemed the “Antidote to An Inconvenient Truth”, Al Gore’s climate change film. Lomborg wants the world to know that we’re not all going to die and that there are sensible ways for us to manage climate change. Whether or not Lomborg is still the villain of environmental sciences, he is now fighting the good fight and dramatic film trailer and change of heart aside, Lomborg sure is resurrecting all kinds of climate change debate.
Katherine Hui is currently the Social site editor at Green Thing, a web-based public service in London that inspires people to lead greener lives through creative content.
Before this, she worked as the Development Manager at Social Innovation Camp, an organization that encourages people to use web and mobile-based technology to mobilise social change. She oversaw 300 ideas submission and helped build 20 prototypes – five of which have gone on to get further funding or investment.
Katherine’s came over to the UK form Canada in 2007 for an MSc program at the London School of Economics. Before arriving in London, she managed a small environmental start-up in Vancouver called the Canadian Climate Change Alliance.
Katherine is football mad. She is a loyal supporter of Arsenal FC, plays for Islington Borough Ladies FC and coaches for Gunners in Islington in her spare time. Her second favourite hobby is kite surfing and she can sometimes be found chasing the wind.
