Skeptical Environmentalist makes greens see red. (Correction, Please!).(Bjorn Lomborg)

ITEM: Bjorn Lomborg, author of a book called The Skeptical Environmentalist, claims "that the planet is in far healthier shape than most greens maintain." Lomborg's book has brought him "worldwide obloquy" by those greens, reports The Economist. He has now been named to run Denmark's Institute for Environmental Assessment. "Local greens are spitting with fury," noted the London publication in its March 2nd-8th issue.

"Academic critics have denounced him to Denmark's committee on scientific dishonesty." Indeed, said The Economist: "Critics say Denmark's reputation as a pioneer in environmental protection will be devastated."

ITEM: A series of essays in the Scientific American for January 2002 hit the new book The Skeptical Environmentalist for using "misleading math" to "dismiss warnings about peril for the planet." But, insist the editors, "it's the author who is out of touch with the facts."

CORRECTION: In truth, it's Scientific American's 11-page attack that's out of touch with the facts. If that were not the case, the authors of that attack would surely have been able to find more than a couple errors in the book of more than 500 pages, neither of them particularly significant.

The Economist took a somewhat different approach with Bjorn Lomborg's book, condemning it with faint praise. Yet the London ...