Festival of Ideas 31 May 2011

Festival of Ideas
Bjørn Lomborg
Putting Global Warming in Perspective
At-Bristol, 31 May 2011, 18.30-20.30

Bjørn Lomborg believes that global warming is real, man-made and will have a serious impact on humans and the environment toward the end of this century. In a range of books (including The Skeptical Environmentalist and Cool It), articles and now a film, Lomborg argues that we need to look at the costs and benefits of the proposed measures. He demonstrates that drastic, here-and-now measures are the worst way to spend money as climate change is a 100-year problem that cannot be fixed in ten years. Instead we should focus on the smartest solutions to the problems that the world faces, whether we're dealing with climate change, communicable diseases, malnutrition, or agricultural subsidies. If we want to help the world to the greatest extent we can, we do need to fix climate, but should do so smartly and effectively, and we should also remember there are many other important things we can focus on right now, like micronutrient supplementation and fortification, community nutrition programmes, expanded vaccination coverage for children, elimination of financial barriers to education, improving agricultural technology that would do amazing things at very low cost. He presents his case and then debates it with local experts including Juliet Davenport (CEO and founder of renewable electricity supplier, Good Energy), Professor Jim Longhurst (University of the West of England) and Peter Madden, Director, Forum for the Future.

Biography:
Bjørn Lomborg was named as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2004. Foreign Policy and Prospect magazines listed him as the world's 14th most influential intellectual in 2005. He is the author of the bestselling The Skeptical Environmentalist (CUP, 2001) which sold over 100,000 copies worldwide and regularly appears in the media. His most recent book is Smart Solutions to Climate Change: Comparing Costs and Benefits. http://www.lomborg.com/

How to book:
Price: £7.20 / £5.60. Contact At-Bristol, on: 0845 4586 499, book online, or visit in person. Please note there is a 10% charge for online bookings.