Bjorn Lomborg and Global Warming

I was listening to a brief segment of the Dennis Miller show last night as I was lying in bed and heard only a portion of his interview with Bjorn Lomborg, the author of Cool It and The Skeptical Environmentalist. What I heard was brilliant and explains why this guy is so popular. According to his website, he is one of the world's 100 most influential people according to Time Magazine, 2004, and the 14th most influential academic in the world according to Foreign Policy and Prospect magazine, 2005. His insights into the global warming threats were very impressive. His response was very level-headed and insightful. Based on the interview, I may have to buy his book.

But even more interesting were his efforts with the Copenhagen Consensus, a foundation he started. Doing some research today, I was thrilled to find he has also spoken at TED in February of 2005. See his speech below. The essence of his talk, and the thrust of the Copenhagen Consensus is:

Given $50 billion to spend, which would you solve first, AIDS or global warming? Danish political scientist Bjorn Lomborg put this question to economists and students around the world, and the answers they came up with may surprise you. Ranking our toughest problems not on any moral scale but simply by how effectively they can be solved, Lomborg and his colleagues demand we take a fresh look at doing good.

Ultimately, out of the top 10 problems identified in the world today, the experts concluded solving AIDS is financially the most responsible priority, with Global warming as the least! I will add a link to the Copenhagen Consensus in the resource column for future referencing. Although it is viewing these issues from a strictly economic perspective, this is a real-world factor and one that effects political policy. I am thrilled to find this window into these issues and will continue to check in with their efforts.