Some of you have probably read (and many more have probably heard about
- in which case I urge you to actually read) the book published a couple
years ago by Bjorn Lomborg, a Danish professor of statistics, called
"The Skeptical Environmentalist". You might also recall that earlier
this year the Danish Committees on Scientific Dishonesty (DCSD) blasted
Lomborg and the book claiming he had committed scientific dishonesty and
fraud. Anyone who read both the book and the DCSD report had to scratch
his or her head to understand where the DCSD was coming from. Well you
are not alone. This just out:


Danish ministry report vindicates Lomborg
   Environment Daily 1577, 18/12/03


Denmark's science ministry has vehemently dismissed as "completely void
of argumentation" the report of a scientific panel which accused
controversial economist Bjorn Lomborg of "scientific dishonesty" (ED
08/01/03).

The ministry's scathing indictment of the national "committee on
scientific dishonesty" (UVVU) closes the book on a year-long slanging
match that has generated worldwide headlines, raised fundamental issues
of scientific freedom and at times threatened to bring the international
environmental establishment into disrepute.

In its ruling, published on Wednesday, the ministry finds that the
committee presented no evidence for its allegations of bias and
unscientific methodology against Mr Lomborg and his book "The Sceptical
Environmentalist".

Instead it is the UVVU which now stands accused of using "condescending
and emotional" language, failing to give Mr Lomborg a chance to defend
himself and basing its judgements on media reports rather than an
independent assessment of the book.

Media comment on the ministry's findings has tended to deplore the
supine attitude of large sections of the scientific community towards
the original UVVU report. It has also regreted the political motivation
on both sides of the numerous controversies surrounding Mr Lomborg's
work as head of Denmark's environmental assessment institute (IMV),
founded by the government two years ago (ED 27/02/02).

Most recently, five of the institute's seven directors have resigned, at
least three of them in protest at Mr Lomborg's plans for an
international conference, "Copenhagen Consensus". Critics argue that the
conference will be too expensive and will cover issues such as
international finance, corruption and health that are far outside IMV's
sphere of activity.


More information on this issue can be found at
http://www.imv.dk/Default.asp?ID=233

Chuck Dolci