By James Pinkerton
Excerpted from an article on Tech Central
"Bjørn Lomborg, a professor at the University of Aarhus in Denmark, challenges the enviros on their proudest premise: that their program will make the world a better place. Describing himself as "an ex-Greenpeace guy," he has written a provocative new book, The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World.
Lomborg freely admits that he is a statistician, not an earth scientist. As he told a recent forum at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank in New York City, "I didn't go out and measure any temperatures." Instead, true to his statistical calling, he gathered numbers. And then, in the tradition of Julian Simon and Gregg Easterbrook, he followed the trail of his data, leading him to the conclusion that, "things are getting better, doomsday is not near."
Environmentalists have blasted him. In its January issue, Scientific American published five pieces of rebuttal. Lomborg responded by posting the articles, plus his refuting annotations, on his website, and so the eco-battle is joined.
Founded 30 years ago in Bozeman, Montana, PERC—the Property and Environment Research Center—is the nation’s oldest and largest institute dedicated to improving environmental quality through property rights and markets.
PERC’s publications, each designed to resonate with specific groups, move ideas generated at PERC to broader audiences.
Research is at the heart of PERC's work, with a focus on the question: What is the link between economic growth and environmental quality?
The goal of PERC’s programs is to fully realize the vision of establishing “PERC University,” where scholars, students, policy makers, and others convene to expand the applications of free market environmentalism.
PERC's fellowships share a common goal of exposing new scholars, students, journalists, and policy makers to free market environmentalism, as well as enable scholars already familiar with FME to explore new applications.
PERC continues to publish and present a broad range of research and discussion through podcasts, videos, and other multimedia channels.