Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Climate-Change Misdirection

Bjorn Lomborg: Climate-Change Misdirection - WSJ.com
"This does not mean that climate change isn't an issue.
It means that exaggerating the threat concentrates resources in the wrong areas.
Consider hurricanes (though similar points hold for wildfire and drought).
If the aim is to reduce storm damage, then first focus on resilience—better building codes and better enforcement of those codes.
Ending subsidies for hurricane insurance to discourage building in vulnerable zones would also help, as would investing in better infrastructure (from stronger levees to higher-capacity sewers).
These solutions are quick and comparatively cheap.
Most important, they would diminish future hurricane damage, whether climate-induced or not.
Had New York and New Jersey focused resources on building sea walls and adding storm doors to the subway system and making simple fixes like porous pavements, Hurricane Sandy would have caused much less damage."

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