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An Appeal to Reason: A Cool Look at Global Warming

Author: Nigel Lawson
Publisher: Gerald Duckworth & Co Ltd
Category: Book

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Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars

11 reviews
Sales Rank: 86

Format: Abridged, Audiobook, Box Set, Illustrated, Large Print
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 144
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.2 x 1

ISBN: 071563786X
EAN: 9780715637869
ASIN: 071563786X

Publication Date: April 10, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New. Shipped from the UK Mainland within 2 working days.

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•	Hardcover - An Appeal to Reason: A Cool Look at Global Warming

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Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Answering the right questions May 15, 2008
Adding to the above reviews, the most important thematic point that runs throughout Lawson's book is that this whole subject is not one where we should defer to climatologists. The key inputs that determine the outcomes of their models are economic - climatologists are not well qualified to make those forecasts, and as he shows in the book, do not seem to fully comprehend the implications of the economic assumptions that they make.
Even once we take the outputs from the models, there is still a policy decision to be taken on whether the currently proposed solutions are the best way to improve the lot of humanity over the long term, or if our money would be better spent in other ways - a point Lawson convincingly shows is inadequately addressed by the intellectually bankrupt Stern report.
The more negative reviews that criticise Lawson's scientific credentials really miss the point of the argument. Besides, the fact that the book is endorsed by none other than the professor of atmospheric physics at MIT should be reassuring to readers concerned about the reliability of the information.
I found this a beautifully argued book, and would highly recommend to anyone who is genuinely concerned about how we should respond to the issue of climate change.

1 out of 5 stars

Apologia for the Status Quo... May 8, 2008
1 out of 6 found this review helpful

Although this book likes to present itself as a libertarian tract against the tyranny of the 'green menace', it is essentially the work of an establishment figure chiding anyone with the audacity to try and restructure the world order that has served him and his ilk so well. Like it or not, the climate issue has been politisized and big business is starting to get hot under the collar as more and more people become aware of the irreversible damage the current model is wreaking on the planet. So expect to see more books like this, enlisting 'authority figues' and payrolled scientists to repudiate fact and defend unending growth and rapacious consumption in the name of 'reason' and 'common sense'. Sceptisism is a healthy and laudable trait, but it must have some basis in reality to avoid sounding like reactionary bluster.

1 out of 5 stars

A complete waste of trees. May 8, 2008
3 out of 10 found this review helpful

It's astonishing that Nigel Lawson's scientifically illiterate book has garnered so many glowing reviews. There's a 'howler' on almost every page and Lawson(a non-scientist) arrogantly dismisses the work of the world's climatologists, meteorologists and other scientists(including Nobel Prize winners) who have provided overwhelming evidence for the reality of manmade global warming. 'An Appeal To Reason' will appeal to unreasonable, rightwing climate-change deniers who feel that their carbon-rich lifestyles are threatened by environmentalists. For others, who hope for a habitable planet in the future, Lawson's lamentable book is a complete waste of trees.

5 out of 5 stars

At last - Sanity prevails! May 6, 2008
10 out of 14 found this review helpful

Lord Lawson has stood up to be counted - and great praise is due for this stand. He could not get an UK publisher to touch this book.

He is simply challenging what has becoming the received wisdom of the climate debate - and which has now become "The Emperor's Clothes" syndrome.

As a non-scientist, he is cautious in questioning the basic science but he challenges the way the IPCC has manipulated, extrapolated and projected questionable science.

He, quite rightly, pours scorn and vitriol on the Stern Report, which is mostly a scurrilous rehashing of junk science and junk news.

Lord Lawson portrays the Global Warming debate as a hugely biased and self-fulfilling gravy train. It is being pushed along by environmental fundamentalists and self-serving bureaucrats who have stopped listening to reason.

He portrays a future scenario that bears no resemblance to the promised Armageddon beloved of the ecomaniacs.

Please read his careful and authoritative words - this is the truth of the matter of global warming.

1 out of 5 stars

Open Minded April 28, 2008
4 out of 24 found this review helpful

Considering that it was when Lawson was in power under Thatcher that Global warming was first talked about I find this whole book highly hypocritical and slightly dangerous. Yes scientist are only 90% Global warming is down to us, but science is only ever 90% sure. Lawson is right he is no scientist. This book is simply tosh.