Conventional wisdom says that global warming is a serious problem. While many people believe the answer to that problem is stringent government regulation -- regulation that would lower productivity and standards of living around the world -- Thomas Gale Moore asks, "So what?"
In Climate of Fear: Why We Shouldn't Worry About Global Warming, Moore argues that in this case, as in so many others, conventional wisdom is wrong. If global warming were to occur, it would not be the disaster that many doomsayers have predicted. Instead, most people would actually benefit from the slightly higher temperatures it would produce.
Moore shows that two periods in history that were warmer than today were not characterized by economic and social stagnation. Instead, mankind flourished. He demonstrates that increased carbon dioxide emissions, coupled with warmer autumns and winters, would boost agricultural production, reduce heating costs, improve transportation, and cut fatalities. And he asks, why should we complain about a four- or five-degree increase in temperature when most people prefer to live in warmer climates, and millions have moved and changed jobs in order to do so?
Moore demonstrates that, if the benefits of global warming failed to materialize, the costs of curbing greenhouse gas emmissions would far exceed even the most pessimistic estimates of losses from climate change. Adopting policies that would slow economic growth in order to prevent global warming would be foolish and harmful.
