Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["E. E. Mitchamore Jr" <emitch@att.net>]

In an attempt to be as well informed as possible, I grudgingly felt obligated to read Bjorn Lomborg's The Skeptical Environmentalist (TSE).  I haven't finished, but am finding it so tedious that I wanted to get reactions from others that may have read it.

 

Having read and enjoyed Lester Brown's Plan B 2.0, I was surprised that the major theme of TSE is an attack on Brown.  In fact, the only time when Lomborg's writing is clear and concise is when he's attacking Brown's claims.  The rest of the time it's a muddy deluge of statistical claims from agencies that appear to be legitimate.  For example, I just finished the chapter on food, and noticed no concerns for fertilizer and pesticide availability.  In fact, in Lomborg's analysis, food production seems to have been measured, at times, by fertilizer consumption.  Increased fertilizer consumption is seen as a measure of farmers' progress, and will continue, to good effect.

 

So, is Lomberg real?  Does his view have validity, or is he a shill for Agribusiness?  Is he hoping that readers will be so impressed with the voluminous notes and references that they will think "It must be true"?  Or is my own concern clouding my judgment? 

 

E. E. "Mitch" Mitchamore
www.hillcountrynatives.biz