E.O. Wilson Wants Us to Leave Half of the Earth Alone

Calling him a scientist of any kind is probably being a little too generous, don't you think?

Then why are you promoting his views?

Edited by Theodoric, : No reason given.

quote:

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pity this busy monster, manunkind,

not.

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e.e. cummings

I wasn't promoting his views as a scientist, so whether he's a good scientist or not doesn't have much bearing on the point I was making.

Then why should we put any credence on anything he has to say on a scientific subject?
Especially from a person that is a known liar and manipulator of facts.

Then why should we put any credence on anything he has to say on a scientific subject?

We shouldn't.

Lomborg's taken plenty of flack for his views, and while his book is no masterpiece, he has a point with many of the things he says. And the spirit behind his argument, that we should be using our resources to improve people's lives as best we can instead of easing our conscience about the environment, is not off the mark.

At least in the US, we spend way more money building machines and maintaining armies that are meant to kill people in 3rd world countries. 3rd world countries also lack infrastructure that is required to move them towards better economies. Many times, this infrastructure is limited as much by history as it is by local geography. Not every country is blessed with the Great Plains.

There are also win-win situations, such as moving away from economically volatile fuels to sustainable sources like nuclear.

I am doubly confused why then you brought him and his writings up.

If you read what I wrote, you wouldn't be confused.

As I said, Lomborg's work is no masterpiece and the man is no genius (I was pretty critical of his book in my Amazon review, but I won't go into it here). What I was mainly bringing up in relation to his views is the value in his idea of analyzing the costs and benefits of environmental policy and understanding that the real value behind maintaining environmental quality is to improve and preserve human life and so EQ improvements can be weighed against the costs and benefits of other measures aimed at improving and preserving human life.

The benefits to humanity of living on only half the inhabitable globe are far outweighed by the costs of doing so—even if it would make the environment a happier place.

At least in the US, we spend way more money building machines and maintaining armies that are meant to kill people in 3rd world countries.

Indeed

Though many Third World countries aren't much better when it comes to warring on one another (or themselves).

3rd world countries also lack infrastructure that is required to move them towards better economies.

Infrastructure can be built.

Many times, this infrastructure is limited as much by history as it is by local geography. Not every country is blessed with the Great Plains.

What's so great about the Great Plains? (And don't forget, many parts of the Great Plains were once Great Forests.)

Edited by Jon, : No reason given.

Not quite the right thread, but close enough. From BBC News: Sudan, last male northern white rhino, dies in Kenya

Sudan, 45 and elderly by rhino standards with a host of health problems, was put down by veterinarians yesterday. There are only two females left, so IVF is the only hope for preserving the species.

--Percy

Ask any man starving in Africa whether he'd prefer seeing the jungles ploughed over and planted with food or the Earth not get a couple degrees warmer.

Thing is if you plough the jungle to plant crops it will turn in to a desert, The reason it rains every noon in the jungle is because there is a jungle.

Edited by frako, : No reason given.

Sudan, 45 and elderly by rhino standards with a host of health problems, was put down by veterinarians yesterday. There are only two females left, so IVF is the only hope for preserving the species.

If it makes you feel any better, nobody treated the northern population as a distinct species prior to a few years ago, while the southern population is a conservation success story. From being presumed extinct in the late nineteenth century there are now more 20,000 of them - the most populous of living rhino species.

caffeine writes: If it makes you feel any better, nobody treated the northern population as a distinct species prior to a few years ago, while the southern population is a conservation success story. From being presumed extinct in the late nineteenth century there are now more 20,000 of them - the most populous of living rhino species.

We used to hear that a certain species was "extinct in Canada". No word on whether or not it was extinct three feet away in the US.