| More Lomborg lies about David Pimentel's paper "The Ecology of Increasing Disease" |
| this page was created by me, Jeff Opal, on 20-FEB-2004, and was last updated on 20-FEB-2004 |
| On page 216 of The Skeptical Environmentalist Lomborg says: |
| The idea of pesticides-make-cancer-epidemic is perhaps most clearly encapsulated in the famous article from Professor Pimentel of Cornell, which we have already discussed in Part I. In the opening line, neglecting the overwhelming contribution of tobacco and malnutrition to his figures, he confidently states: "We have calculated that an estimated 40 percent of world deaths can be attributed to various environmental factors, especially organic and chemical pollutants."1634 |
| Lomborg's note 1634 gives page 817 of the paper (its first page). This is a severe misquoting of the paper, which is evident when it's actual opening line (the first two sentences) are seen: |
| Pimentel's paper is here: Bioscience Vol. 48 no. 10, Oct-1998 pp 817-26 |
| All populations of organisms, including humans, are limited partially or completely by diseases in their ecosystems (Real 1996). Disease prevalence in populations and ecosystems is influenced by many factors, including infectious organisms such as fungi and viruses, pollutants such as chemical and biological wastes, and shortages of food and nutrients (Dubos 1965). |
| With such statements the authors of the paper make it very clear that they are regarding food shortages and malnutrition as "environmental problems". Hence, their estimate of 40% of world deaths being caused by "various environental factors, especially organic and chemical pollutants" includes deaths caused either wholly or partially by malnutrition. Lomborg flatly lies when he says that the paper attributes the 40% of worldwide deaths to pollution (see page 25). Nowhere in the paper does it say this. Moreover, with the words "organic pollutants" the paper makes it very clear that its authors are treating infectious disease organisms as "environmental factors" and, more specifically, "organic pollutants". |