In one of Bjorn Lomborg's most shameful escapades yet, he went to Bangladesh to tell citizens they shouldn't worry about climate change. After all, says Bjorn, Bangladeshis can just do like the Dutch, who have shown that "you can handle sea level rise fairly, easily and cheaply."
Right, because something that a small, developed European country does is applicable to a poor, crowded country. Has Bjorn ever seen a map of Bangladesh? Its massive spread is not exactly conducive to building sea walls, and sea walls are certainly not easily afforded by a country where per capita income is $3,167 (compared to $47,365 in the Netherlands).
The interviewer makes a comment that goes straight to the heart of Lomborg's schtick. After Lomborg says, “[T]his is not by any means the end of Bangladesh," the interviewer says, "So, the United States and other developed countries can say that 'climate change is not an immediate threat and for that reason, we are not going to compensate Bangladesh for our carbon emission.'"
Pretty much! We don't know why anyone thinks Lomborg's message is anything but an attempt to grant polluters a few more years of unrestrained emissions.
At least Lomborg stops short of stooping to the level of J.R. Spradley, an oil lobbyist who was also a US delegate to the 1990 UNFCCC. He told the Bangladeshi delegation, "the situation is not a disaster; it is merely a change. The area won't have disappeared; it will just be underwater. Where you now have cows, you will have fish."
For a more thorough look at Bjorn's blunder, see Greg Laden.
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