Kerby Anderson

Michael Shellenberger has been working in the environmental arena for decades. But he began to become more concerned when he was hearing claims that “billions of people are going to die” unless we implement radical, draconian environmental policies. Early on in his book, he explains why he decided to part company with some of the environmentalists and set the record straight. “Much of what people are being told about the environment, including the climate, is wrong, and we desperately need to get it right. I decided to write Apocalypse Never after getting fed up with the exaggeration, alarmism, and extremism that are the enemy of positive, humanistic, and rational environmentalism.” He explains that carbon emissions peaked and have actually been declining in most developed countries. Deaths from extreme weather (even in poor countries) have also declined significantly. And while he admits that climate change may have contributed to the fires in California and elsewhere, it is not the cause of them. His concern is that the singular emphasis on climate change has distracted us from more pressing environmental issues. Extreme poverty, underdevelopment, and land use are just a few of the many concerns often ignored when we focus all of our attention on climate change. He also admitted that he began as an anti-nuclear activist. Now he has changed his mind. He talks about the “war on nuclear” and explains how nuclear energy provides a significant amount of power without adding carbon dioxide to the environment. He concludes by acknowledging that climate change is real, but it’s not the end of the world. Pundits and politicians who are scaring people about climate change need to read his book. [printfriendly]