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A review by dornage
Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All by Michael Shellenberger
2.0
Disappointing. I had to quit a quarter of the way in. Mr Shellenberger's premise seemed to be "if you keep hitting the panic button every other minute, people will become desensitized to the alarm. Here's how we actually fix the problem." Instead, it was just one overly simplified dismissal after another. I enjoyed his story telling ability which is why I think people are willing to jump on board with his confirmation bias approach to "common sense" solutions.
Are plastic straws the entire problem? No. Does he acknowledge single use plastics are everywhere? Yes. His solution? Sunlight degrades styrofoam sooner than 1000 years, besides plastics prevent elephant and turtle poaching. What?
Is it hypocritical of nations with historically bad environmental policy to smack talk other countries with bad environmental policies? Yes. Should that end the discussion? According to him, yes, because the rainforest doesn't actually provide as much oxygen as we were told 50 years ago.
Penguins are starving due to over fishing. "Oh my, I ate their food today. I'm the villian." This is when I had to stop. It's just petty sarcasm.
He did occasionally lob new ideas out but ultimately just to distract from whoever he was attacking at the moment. This could have been a book about what we can do and not sound like we're crying wolf. Instead it's a book that placates climate change deniers into not needing to act upon anything because it's not as bad as the alarmists make it. Alarmists want people to actively help save the environment. Shellenberger is just like a mocking child, he points at the alarmist making the crazy sign so people feel validated in their inaction.
Are plastic straws the entire problem? No. Does he acknowledge single use plastics are everywhere? Yes. His solution? Sunlight degrades styrofoam sooner than 1000 years, besides plastics prevent elephant and turtle poaching. What?
Is it hypocritical of nations with historically bad environmental policy to smack talk other countries with bad environmental policies? Yes. Should that end the discussion? According to him, yes, because the rainforest doesn't actually provide as much oxygen as we were told 50 years ago.
Penguins are starving due to over fishing. "Oh my, I ate their food today. I'm the villian." This is when I had to stop. It's just petty sarcasm.
He did occasionally lob new ideas out but ultimately just to distract from whoever he was attacking at the moment. This could have been a book about what we can do and not sound like we're crying wolf. Instead it's a book that placates climate change deniers into not needing to act upon anything because it's not as bad as the alarmists make it. Alarmists want people to actively help save the environment. Shellenberger is just like a mocking child, he points at the alarmist making the crazy sign so people feel validated in their inaction.