Steve Haslouer
Topeka, KS
Panel: Danish Environmentalist Work 'Unscientific'
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - A panel of independent Scandinavian scientists said on Tuesday
that recent reports by a controversial Danish environmentalist were unscientific and of
dubious value.
The Danish government asked the panel of five academics to evaluate reports from an
independent environmental institute headed by Bjorn Lomborg, after a prestigious Danish
scientific committee earlier this year accused the environmental maverick of scientific
dishonesty -- a charge he dismissed.
The 38-year-old statistician, author of the controversial book "The Skeptical
Environmentalist," enraged the scientific community by saying that the dangers of
global warming (news - web sites) had been exaggerated and that trying to slow it was a
waste of money.
"The panel must conclude that none of the reports represent scientific work or methods
in the traditional scientific sense," the five scientists said in their report.
In his book, Lomborg said the world's forests are barely declining, few animals have
become extinct lately and rivers and oceans are becoming cleaner.
Lomborg has also criticized the vast sums being spent on reducing pollution, arguing
that the amount spent on reducing greenhouse gas emissions would be enough to provide
every person in the world with access to clean water and sewerage.
The chairman of Lomborg's Institute for Environmental Valuation, created by the
center-right government in 2002, said the board took note of the panel's evaluation,
while the Danish opposition said the institute should be closed.
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