I often think Miranda Devine is the Sydney Morning Herald's token right winger. However today's article on the vist to Australia of Bjorn Lomborg is worth a read. I've got a link to Lomborg on the right here. His book the Skeptical Environmentalist is interesting as a response to what he calls the green "litany". The part I find most disturbing is the vitriol his critics attack him with. I do fear they do protest too much, to mangle some Shakespeare.

The reality is Lomborg is not likely to be 100% correct in everything, much like his critics are not likely to be correct in many of their claims either. But the disasters forecast in the 60s and 70s for the environment have not happened, although they have had the benefit of making the world aware there are issues. The green "litany" involves an appeal to guilt that most in the West have. The idea is the West is prosperous, prosperity must come at a cost and that cost is unsustainable. This is not the case at all. The world is a significantly better place now than it has ever been on many measures, especially if one looks at the living conditions of most humans on the planet.

I could go on about all of this but there are better people at this than me. Bjorn Lomborg is one of them. His book is worth a read, even if it is heavy on stats. That's part of the joy though because he uses the same stats as the green movement to disprove many of their claims.

The main idea is these issues need sensible debate, not hyperbole and shrill emotional claims. That will be real progress for the world and the environment.