Suggested Readings: Environmental Risk

The Precautionary Principle: A Critical Appraisal of Environmental Risk Assessment
By Indur M. Goklany
ISBN: 1-930865-16-3

"Any policy analyst worth his salt would investigate the costs and benefits of a policy before judging whether or not the policy has passed or failed a rationality test. But an ever-increasing array of policies, domestic and global, invoke guiding principles that are ill-defined, vacuous, or unworkable. Such is the precautionary principle. Indur Goklany dissects the good from the bad and attempts a reconstruction."
—David Pearce, professor of environmental economics, University College, London

The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World
By Bjørn Lomborg
ISBN: 0-521-80447-7

"Bjørn Lomborg is an outstanding representative of the 'new breed' of political scientists—mathematically skilled and computer-adept. In this book, he shows himself also to be a hard-headed, empirically-oriented analyst. Surveying a vast amount of data and taking account of a wide range of more or less informed opinion about environmental threats facing the planet, he comes to a balanced assessment of which ones are real and which over-hyped."
—Lewis Wolpert, professor, department of anatomy and biology, University College, London

Junk Science Judo: Self-Defense against Health Scares and Scams
By Steven J. Milloy
ISBN: 1-930865-12-0

"This valuable book deals in a thorough manner with one of the serious scientific problems of our times, the intentional distortion of the methods of science in attempts to reach conclusions that are not justified by qualified scientific research. The situation is made particularly serious by the fact that many prominent newscasters and others use such material for its sensational content in order to draw attention to their programs."
—Frederick Seitz, past president, National Academy of Sciences

In a Dark Wood: The Fight over Forests and the Rising Tyranny of Ecology
By Alston Chase
ISBN: 0-395-60837-6

"Alston Chase tells a story that needs to be told. Passion, thought, and action on both sides of the 'green' debate too often pit true believers against true believers. This book sends a bright bolt of rationality into public discussion right when it is needed most. He provides us all the opportunity to reflect on our values and tactics."
—Joseph P. Kalt, environmental and natural resources program, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University