Climate change has become one of those taboo topics best avoided at dinner parties, like religion and politics. That is, unless you happen agree with the consensus view and fiercely denounce any opposition and anyone that doesn’t fully accept that the threat of CO2-induced global warming is the number one problem in the world. Otherwise, you risk being branded a pariah and an enemy of humanity. Be that as it may, we still believe that intelligent discourse and civilized debate is worth that risk.

Complex issues are rarely understood, much less solved, by those who scream the loudest.

A dispassionate examination of the facts works a lot better. Therefore, we are recommending a book that we like: False Alarm, by author Bjorn Lomborg, who also authored earlier works The Skeptical Environmentalist and Cool It. Just like his earlier writings, Mr. Lomborg provides an excellent and differentiated analysis of the economic and geo-political dimensions of the climate change panic. This kind of level-headed and calm analysis is what we need more of in the world.

The most important thing about global warming is this. Whether humans are responsible for the bulk of climate change is going to be left to the scientists, but it's all of our responsibility to leave this planet in better shape for the future generations than we found it. ~ Mike Huckabee

To those readers who are now already up in arms, upset with my audacity to merely second-guess the consensus storyline, we say: “Cool it!”

We love nature just as much as you do. We want the best for the planet and for humankind, just like you do. We are very much for social and environmental responsibility. And we even agree that it is in the best interest of humankind to decrease dependency on fossil fuels in the coming years, and to invest in other energy sources.

However, we may have differing views on the urgency of CO2 reduction, and regarding the ranking of the problems and risk mitigation measures. We think that the widely assumed approach to solving our widely presumed problems should be analyzed and reflected on, to better understand, rank, and address those problems in the most efficient and effective way.

If you don’t agree with that viewpoint, we certainly have no problem with that. In fact, we think different viewpoints are essential to a healthy debate. This is why we think you should read this book. Bjorn Lomborg has done a great job of adding some excellent considerations to the discourse.

Just as economic questions and projections are highly complex, the problems of climate change are also multi-variable and will not be smartly addressed or solved with a one-dimensional, naive approach. In that context, anyone with the required common sense and calm left in his or her system will find this book of interest.

To continue making this world better for generations to come, we need to continue second-guessing, asking questions, and pushing for clear answers. Otherwise, if we fall for the dogmatic beliefs of a few fanatics and ideologues, we will make way too many irrational mistakes, achieving the opposite of what we are striving for.

If you really think it is all decided and clear, we want to remind you that the consensus is generally wrong… always has been. And problems are hardly ever solved by low-resolution, one-dimensional thinking. There is so much to learn. And isn’t that what we’re all about: using our brain, continually learning, and growing? Because ultimately that is what will REALLY improve our world and build a good future.

It all starts with the internal acknowledgement that neither you, nor I, nor anyone else knows it all.

>> Read more here.