I am a college professor (forgive me) who teaches environmental
engineering. I got into this field in the early 70s because I am an environmentalist. I totally agree with the premise of your column on Lomborg and with most of the details. He is now my hero. I feel truly sorry for Lomborg because I am sure that he had no idea what he was getting into. The scientific community in the U. S. has
been almost totally politicized, with severely detrimental effects on scientific progress and on those who question the litany. We have a modern word for those scientists who persecuted Gallileo and who are persecuting Lomborg: fascist. If I were him, I would hire a bodyguard. Seriously.
My own field, engineering, has been relatively free of this nonsense until recently. I now find that more and more of my students come from public schools to college brainwashed with these myths. Like a good engineer, I present them with the facts and expect them to react rationally like engineers. No. It is virtually impossible to change someone’s mind when it has been shaped from the beginning with emotional
messages and brainwashing.
I despair.