Climate of Fear Why we shouldn't worry about global warming

Most climate experts agree that industrial emissions of carbon dioxide either already have led or will soon lead to an increase in global temperatures. While many consider that reason enough to undertake dramatic political action, economist Thomas Gale Moore asks, So what? Both historical and economic analysis suggests, he argues, that a warmer climate would be, on balance, beneficial to both mankind and the environment. The book calls into question the entire campaign led by Vice President Al Gore and others to ratify the proposed treaty on global warming scheduled to be debated in the U.S. Senate early in 1998.

"History and research support the proposition that a warmer climate is beneficial," writes Thomas Gale Moore in this socioeconomic analysis of the potential effects of global warming. Moore--once a member of President Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers--is an economist, and thus wisely decides to focus on what might happen if global temperatures rise, rather than try to debunk the respected scientists who have concluded that they will. Using odd bits of historical and archaeological data (and the migration habits of modern retirees), Moore contends that warmer climates are good for humanity in terms of such things as technological advancement, life expectancy, and individual health. Moore's two meaningful points are that overall agricultural production is unlikely to suffer in a warmer world and that attempts to cut back on fossil fuel use now will be extremely, perhaps prohibitively, expensive. He says the best global-warming strategy is to maintain the status quo, continue research on climate, and help poor countries improve their economies. But his focus is extremely U.S.-centric, and his dismissal of the effects of even a few feet in sea level rise on, say, millions of Bangladeshis, is either purposefully naive or downright offensive. Climate of Fear isn't a rigorous examination of all sides of the global-warming controversy, but it provides an analysis of the potential economic consequences to the United States of implementing preventative measures.