Population Growth

Some policies seem so altruistic that it is almost impossible to imagine any objection to them. For example, lending small amounts of money or writing off debts to help the extreme poor are intended to help the most vulnerable, and both approaches seem entirely sensible. However, scrutiny reveals these well-intentioned policies to be misguided.

Bjørn Lomborg tænkte, »det var satans«, mens han læste artiklen »The Doomslayer« - dommedagsudrydderen - i magasinet Wired i 1997. Han var grebet af historien om en økonom, der siden barndommen afskyede vedtagne sandheder og altid søgte fakta

V vseh kulturah velja vzgoja otroka za najbolj osrečujoče dejanje. Toda zbor aktivistov, znanstvenikov in novinarjev opozarja, da bi morali pred spočetjem otroka dobro razmisliti. Javna radijska postaja NPR iz ZDA se sprašuje, ali naj bi v času podnebnih sprememb sploh še imeli otroke? V časopisu The Nation želijo vedeti, kako se odločiš za otroka, ko podnebne spremembe spreminjajo življenje na Zemlji? The Guardian bralcem svetuje, naj se proti podnebnim spremembam bojujejo tako, da imajo manj otrok. New York Times pa opozarja, da je rojevanje otrok najslabše možno dejanje za okolje.

On the eve of the Karnataka election, waivers of farm loans were one of the major election promises. Now, chief minister HD Kumaraswamy wants to fulfill his pre-poll promise and even threatened to resign if he cannot fulfill his promise. As has been seen time and time again, “farmers first” provides political mileage. With more than 55% of Indians earning their livelihood from the agricultural sector, it comes as no surprise that political parties like to place their bets on the farmers’ cause. However, the real benefit to the farmers won’t come from loan waivers.

Sometimes in life, it is clear that the direct approach isn’t the best one. This is true in many areas, even when it comes to policymaking. Take, as an example, the area of extreme poverty. It seems logical, at first, that the most effective response should be head-on: giving money and assets to protect people from income shocks.

Across all cultures, raising a child is considered one of the most rewarding things a person can do. Yet a chorus of campaigners, scientists, and journalists suggest that everyone should think twice before procreating.

Global attention has been devoted to water scarcity and its effect on Indian farmers. However, new analysis from Indian researchers suggests that far more good could come if irrigation were combined with seed improvement.

Der Mensch hat eine Schwäche für schlechte Nachrichten. Die Medien reflektieren und prägen diese Vorliebe, indem sie Sorgen und panischen Ängsten Nahrung geben. Längere, langsame, positive Trends schaffen es weder auf die Titelseiten, noch liefern sie Stoff für einen Plausch am Arbeitsplatz. Also entwickeln wir eigenartige Fehlannahmen, insbesondere die Vorstellung, dass die überwiegende Mehrheit der Dinge im Begriff sei schiefzulaufen.

Humans are partial to bad news. Media outlets reflect and shape this preference, feeding us woe and panic. Long, slow, positive trends don’t make it to the front page or to water-cooler conversations. So we develop peculiar misperceptions, especially the idea that a preponderance of things are going wrong.

Ontwikkelingsorganisatie Oxfam trok internationaal veel aandacht met de bewering dat er sprake is van een wereldwijde ongelijkheidscrisis. Er bestaat nu echter meer gelijkheid dan in het grootste deel van de afgelopen honderd jaar, schrijft Bjorn Lomborg, directeur van het Copenhagen Consensus Center.