ИПИ Библиотека

Adapt or Die is an essential introduction to the urgent international debate on climate change. It argues that the earth's climate is not in fact changing disastrously, and that policies being pursued to prevent climate change will have negative consequences for consumers, taxpayers, and the poor. Thirteen expert authors argue that: The earth's climate has always changed and always will change. Climate science is uncertain and models used to predict future conditions are not reliable. The news media sensationalise possible effects of climate change, such as increases in disease, floods and hurricanes, but there is no evidence that this is occurring, or will in the future. Attempting to prevent climate change by restricting 'greenhouse gas' emissions will be costly and futile. Restrictions on energy use will hurt European citizens and businesses. People in poor countries will suffer from the actions we take to prevent climate change, through slower economic growth and restrictions on access to much-needed energy sources. The best approach to climate change is adaptation. For most people, this means escaping from subsistence agriculture, and creating wealth through sustainable development and access to technology.

In the 1980s, public attention on environmental issues shifted from issues of acid rain, asbestos and the ozone hole to a new concern: global warming. In the years following the negotiation of the Kyoto Protocol, numerous articles appeared in the scientific and popular press which stated that mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, yellow fever and dengue would threaten Europe and North America if the climate continued to warm.

Kendra Okonski

Kendra Okonski has worked in environmental policy since 1997. She has edited several IPN publications, including two books, Adapt or Die (2003) and Environment and Health (2004). She writes frequently in the international media and appears on television and radio. She has a BA in Economics from Hillsdale College (Michigan, USA) and grew up in Montana and Chile.