Journal donnz's Journal: Copenhagen Consensus 1
I'm not a big fan of Bjorn Lomborg, or at least the manner in which his populist "Skeptical Environmentalist" is usually mis-presented. Too often, the glib assumptions and misrepresentation of data Lomborg accuses others of is evident in his own work (and those that use it for citations).
That being said, I like the look of this Copenhagen Consensus project he has sponsored - which looks at how to "set priorities among a range of ideas for improving the lives of people living in developing countries".
I do agree that control of HIV/AIDS has got to be one of the biggest challenges, particularly in Africa where so much the already small institutional capacity has been wiped out by the disease.
Equally, terms of trade for agricultural produce has got to be changed. When will the average person in the street in the West wake up, subsidising inefficient, western producers is not only poisoning us, robbing us of huge amounts of tax, increasing the cost of basic produce - it's condemning the rest of the world to to grinding poverty.
I see from The Economist that their list doesn't gain much support from environmentalist. There is a tendancy for this group (which which I sometimes associate myself) to ignore the immediate and pressing needs of the human race, and on the face of things to act as a protectionist lobby for western workers.
Yes, global warming is a concern, yes carbon emissions are important issues - but more important than aids, malaria, starvation - I don't think so.
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