Eco-Scam: The False Prophets of Ecological Apocalypse

by Ronald Bailey

Book Overview

"Bailey explodes shibboleths of the environmental movement in an unsettling, thought-provoking polemic certain to stir controversy".--Publishers Weekly. Bailey has covered science as a writer for Forbes and as a producer for PBS.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312109717
• ISBN13: 9780312109714
• Release Date: January 1994
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 228 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

A voice of sanity

This book lays bare what the hardcore environmental movement is really about:MONEY first and foremost and a religion as well.Bailey provides generous quotes so that you can see for yourself just what the new Marxists have in store should they ever ascend to power.As you read the rantings of the wackos and money and power mad lunatics it is abundantly clear that they will deny themselves no tyranny in remaking the world in their own image,should they ever get the chance.The apocalyptic tone taken by the environmentalists is no accident.The more greedy and money hungry leaders of environmentalist organizations realize that the public is not very astute when it comes to science;so it only becomes a matter of getting out the dire predictions courtesy of press conferences and hearings with state and national legislatures to spread whatever disaster scenario they've thought of that week.The media and scientific bodies don't come out unscathed either.Bailey shows a righteous indignation that so many claims of the environmental movement go unchallenged by the mainstream press.And many scientists come out looking like individuals more concerned with getting more grant money than actually engaging in hard science and reporting unbiased facts.This book will outrage and perhaps even shock you.If you do read this expose of the seemy and despicable goings on and the unsavory elements that comprise it you will not watch the news or take the scientists word at face value ever again.This book should be required reading at every high school and college in America.Hopefully a great number of people will read it and pass the word around.

Great book, tells it like it is!

the book is great, the author debunks the eco-doomsters' prophecies of imminent catastrophy by citing a historical view of the Eco-doomsters' theories. They have been found wrong every time!, yet remain unrepentant and unapologetic. A necessary book to moderate the debate on Envrironmentalism.Next time a greeno says Greenhouse, you'll say Greenhoax Effect! Buy it now! and save youself from the Eco-Doomsters.

Incisive and Thorough

A thorough expose of the prevalant science-by-press-release methods of the environmental movement. By illustrating how past environmental claims of doom have failed to occur and how past scientific "findings" have turned out false once examined by scientific contemporaries Ronald Bailey casts serious doubts on the predictions of the environmental movement today. The author also exposes the biases of the media and their tendancy to sermonize on environmental issues rather than objective presentation of the facts. A must-read book for anyone who has wondered whether the popular apocalyptic prophesies have good scientific backing or not.

Intensive documentation of apocalyptic scams

(1996) This book is overflowing with heavily footnoted evidence that we are being bamboozled by a few groups of zealots out to change the political landscape, even if it means fudging the truth a little here or there. The text is sometimes hard to follow, but only because he throws so many facts at the unsupported arguments of scientists and pseudo-scientists, and especially at scientists operating outside their fields. Butterfly scientist Paul Ehrlich and his wife show up several times, first bemoaning the man-made return of the ice age, then warning us about global warming with equal gravity. Bailey not only shows the illegitimacy of the science used by these apocalyptics, but he exposes their motives as well. This book is an invaluable resource for anyone wishing to ask, "Are you sure? How do we know? Are there no other alternatives?" when confronted with the bewildering plethora of supposedly man-made disasters. (2004) Of course, nobody is saying, "Do nothing until it's too late." Bailey's point is to wait until you're sure before you act, because acting on false assumptions and/or conclusions may be the quickest way to disaster. The perfect warning against rash action is the Premature Ice Age or Imminent Global Famine scares of the 70s - fortunately, we waited to see the data before acting on those. His other point is that many of the actors cheerleading the various doomsday scenarios are more interested in political outcomes (like nationalizing agriculture and food distribution) than in their stated outcomes (like biodiversity). By the way: FACT - asthma has been increasing fastest in places where pollution has been decreasing. This has perplexed the worldwide asthma research community. FACT - Organic vapours from live trees and methane from naturally rotting vegetation both contribute to "pollution". Trees don't clean air, they convert CO2 into O2. FACT - Because of tree farms, the paper industry need no longer be dependent on biodiverse forests, so there are more for me to camp in. FACT - There are more plants and trees in North America today than there were 100 years ago. Proof? Look it up in the Statistical Abstract (acres of forest land), or look at the Mauna Loa CO2 data which swings more widely in each successive year due to the North American winter/summer variance. FACT - Water vapor is THE single most important contributor to the greenhouse effect, accounting for 98% of it. Thankfully, Richard Lindzen has been able to point that out despite the chorus of government-research-grant-hungry scientists who can't afford to publish neutral or good news for fearing of not getting any more grants. FACT - Wealth is the single most important determinant of whether a country can survive natural disasters. Within a week of each other, California and Iran each experienced similar sized earthquakes (6.5 and 6.6), but while hardly any property or lives were lost in the much more densely populated California, Iran experienced