Cool It

Bjørn Lomborg is an environmentalist and an economist. He accepts without reservation that global warming is occurring and that it is caused by human activity, but he makes a critical examination of the methods by which we're attempting to deal with the problem. In other words, he disagrees with those who would say that climate change is not a real and serious problem, but he is skeptical of the primary strategies to combat the problem which have been advanced by mainstream environmentalists.

He's become controversial because he's asking questions of fellow environmentalists which they would rather not have to answer.

Are climate change activists engaging in alarmist scare tactics and exaggerating the dangers involved in an attempt to motivate through fear? If we wish to invest in attempts to improve the lives of those who are most disadvantaged, what is the relative benefit of spending on climate compared to other humanitarian endeavors?

Are attempts to artificially raise the price of fossil fuels likely to be successful at lowering temperatures? Will they be sufficiently effective to justify the costs in terms of slowed economic growth and lost increases in the standard of living?

Lomborg seems to believe that the most reasonable approach is a combination of:

>engage in many relatively unobtrusive small scale activities to combat global warming in the short term while contributing more to efforts to promote global health and education

>employ geo-engineering and adaptation in the medium term to minimize the disruption of temperature increases

>make large immediate increases in funding for research and development of renewable energy and more sophisticated nuclear reactors so that in the long term alternative energy will not be more costly than fossil fuels

His arguments about what the rational approach (lacking the unreflective dogmatism of both the deniers and the alarmists) is to finding the best future for the global population certainly merit the time it takes to view this film.

Lomborg, by focusing on how we can adapt, and how 'we can use our money for better things' is avoiding a solution to the problem. He has moved on to accept the science, but now he is saying there is nothing to worry about, and we have better things to do.

His agenda is revealed by what he *doesn't* say. His goal is to avoid penalizing fossil fuel for as long as possible. Of course, such a penalty will not be a significant cost on the economy. There are free market solutions to the problem which can utilize the market to remove fossil fuel from the economy in a quarter of a century or less. This would create a good return on investment many times over, in terms of energy security and technological innovation (fossil energy is *old*), and of course avoiding some of the immigration and starvation that will be caused by warming.

This film challenges us to think creatively, and provides lots of information not provided by either side of the global warming debate. I suspect the reviewer didn't watch the entire film.

Whether or not you agree with the things you see in "Cool It", you need to have an open mind to even consider watching it in the first place--and that is an inherent difficulty with the film. In other words, if you are dogmatic in your views, you wouldn't bother watching a movie that casts many assumptions into question about your assumptions. So, provided you actually watch it and have a reasonably open mind, you'll no doubt enjoy it and feel challenged by Bjørn Lomborg's film about the environment.

"Cool It" is a film that was inspired by Lomborg's book "The Skeptical Environmentalist". In this textbook, Lomborg uses statistics to explore the various claims some environmentalists have made about a variety of topics--in other words, he tries to determine if the claims stack up to a critical analysis. The most notable, and the one covered in "Cool It" most, is about global warming, though the book (which I strongly recommend) covers many other topics such as the oceans, population density and the quality of our air.

As I mentioned above, most of "Cool It" concerns Lomborg's assertion that the way that we deal with global warming is ineffective and wasteful. Now, despite his detractors saying that Lomborg denies global warming, he does not. He just thinks that current policy makes folks think highly of themselves and costs a lot of money but does no good--and there are a lot better ways would could direct our money and energies. And, it's not just Lomborg in this film but many other experts that state that the policies are ineffective and need to be OPENLY debated. Fortunately, they do not stop here--Lomborg and the rest suggest much more effective ways to spend our money and efforts that will either make a greater impact on the problem OR will address more serious problems, such as the serious lack of health care in developing nations.

Because the film does not completely deny global warming, some folks will no doubt hate it. And, because the film has the nerve to say that there really is not a consensus that global warming is a HUGE threat, folks on the other side will no doubt hate it. However, considering that the arguments "An Inconvenient Truth" are mostly alarmist and emotional*, it's really nice to see someone back up and take a look at this and many other issues scientifically--with data and not emotion to bolster it.

Overall, this is a very well-reasoned film that well states SOME of Lomborg's ideas in "The Skeptical Environmentalist". And, even if you don't agree with all or even much of it, it does make you THINK for yourself--something few films really try to do. Exceptional.

*Among the most offensive things I saw in "Cool It" were some of the alarmist videos that show children dying, presumably, if you don't act NOW! Considering that many of these same folks also own carbon offset companies or are supported by companies that would benefit from such policies, it seems pretty gross to use such scare tactics. Just my two cents worth...

Great documentary! It will make likely make you reconsider some of your established beliefs for the topic. Science based but still entertaining (as far as documentaries go). Those who believe that global warming is a myth will reconsider their paradigm and the believers that are praying for a local windmill farm might reconsider that stance. It also tells the story of how Lomborg was booted from the scientific community for political reasons and then returned to his position when an independent review/investigation found that his work is indeed fact based.Inspired me to get his first book "Skeptical Environmentalist". It is too bad that this topic is so divided and emotional as it will prevent many from viewing. I recommend watching no matter what your current paradigm.