--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People are panicking about climate change…" description: "\"“People are panicking about climate change in large part because the media and environmental campaigners tell us to, because politicians overhype the l..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ac/bjorn-lomborg-8937_change_people-are-panicking-about-climate-chang_1551540.jpg" --- # People are panicking about climate change in large part… ![“People are panicking about climate change in large part because the media and environmental campaigners tell us to, because politicians overhype the likely effects, and because scientific research is often communicated without crucial context…: humans adapt to their changing earth. They have for…” quote by Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ac/bjorn-lomborg-8937_change_people-are-panicking-about-climate-chang_1551540.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ac/bjorn-lomborg-8937_change_people-are-panicking-about-climate-chang_1551540.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ac/bjorn-lomborg-8937_change_people-are-panicking-about-climate-chang_1551540.jpg) > ““People are panicking about climate change in large part because the media and environmental campaigners tell us to, because politicians overhype the likely effects, and because scientific research is often communicated without crucial context…: humans adapt to their changing earth. They have for millenia… “We don’t just use up the iron or gas that is there and then give up. We get better at finding more, at lower cost, in effect allowing humanity access to ever more and ever cheaper resources… “Once the human propensity for adaptation is taken into account, the numbers on climate change start looking a lot less scary. And adaptation should ALWAYS be factored into any climate change study, because humans are ALWAYS adapting.” -p. 19, 29, 35”” [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human adaptability lessens climate risk; adaptation should be included in climate assessments. **In simple terms:** Humans adapt, so climate impacts are less scary. Key Takeaway Factor adaptation into climate studies. Themes climate change human adaptation policy risk assessment Mood cautious analytical Type policy analytical When to use this quote - energy planning - urban development - disaster preparedness - environmental policy - public communication Key Concepts resilience technological progress resource economics Questions to Reflect On - How can we ensure adaptation benefits all societies? - What are the limits of human adaptation? A Different Perspective Adaptation may be uneven and limited by socioeconomic factors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adaptation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adaptation/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Climate change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate-change/) [False-alarm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/false-alarm/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Scientific research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientific-research/) ## Related quotes > [Look around you. Everything changes. Everything on this earth is in a continuous state of evolving, refining, improving, adapting, enhancing¦ changing. You were not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/look-around-you-everything-changes-everything-on-this-earth-is-in-a/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [I believe that humans adapt to circumstance. The Internet is quite an unprecedented circumstance, so it's going to take people a while to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarvis-cocker/i-believe-that-humans-adapt-to-circumstance-the-internet-is-quite-an/) [Jarvis Cocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarvis-cocker/) > [“What matters most is that we make sure that the most vulnerable, worst-off people living in shantytowns are lifted out of poverty. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/what-matters-most-is-that-we-make-sure-that-the-most-vulnerable-worst/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [“We should be innovating tomorrow’s technologies rather than erecting today’s inefficient turbines and solar panels. We should explore fusion, fission, water splitting, ...algae grown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/we-should-be-innovating-tomorrow-s-technologies-rather-than-erecting/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [“The Paris Agreement will have no perceptible impact on malaria because it will lead to such small temperature changes; in fact, it is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/the-paris-agreement-will-have-no-perceptible-impact-on-malaria/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [“Climate policies often make life WORSE specifically for the poor...Choosing climate policies over growth policies doesn’t just do nothing. It means more people die…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/climate-policies-often-make-life-worse-specifically-for-the-poor/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [“Biomass, which basically is a fancy-sounding name for wood, is one of the old, reliable renewables that can produce energy when it is needed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/biomass-which-basically-is-a-fancy-sounding-name-for-wood-is-one-of/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [“When a company (e.g. Enron) is calling for more environmental regulation, we need to look very carefully at what they might stand to gain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/when-a-company-e-g-enron-is-calling-for-more-environmental-regulation/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [“A carbon tax forces you to take into account the climate disbenefits that your purchase is responsible for, so you can weigh these against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/a-carbon-tax-forces-you-to-take-into-account-the-climate-disbenefits/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [“By making people richer, especially in the world’s poorest countries, freer trade would also lead to societies far more resilient to climate shocks, more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/by-making-people-richer-especially-in-the-world-s-poorest-countries/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [“We must rein in temperature increases and help ensure that the most vulnerable can adapt. But today’s popular climate change policies of rolling out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/we-must-rein-in-temperature-increases-and-help-ensure-that-the-most/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [“The negative impacts (of biofuels) were much greater than most had anticipated...the amount of crops needed to fill an SUV’s fuel tank with biofuel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/the-negative-impacts-of-biofuels-were-much-greater-than-most-had/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [“We should not confuse the rising costs of flooding with flooding itself (or indeed with climate change). It is entirely caused by more houses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/we-should-not-confuse-the-rising-costs-of-flooding-with-flooding/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [“Global temperature and GDP are both rising, and each affects the other… We have to find the right balance between the two factors. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/global-temperature-and-gdp-are-both-rising-and-each-affects-the-other/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [“One of the great ironies of climate change activism today is that many of the movement’s most vocal proponents are also horrified by global…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/one-of-the-great-ironies-of-climate-change-activism-today-is-that/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) ## More by Bjorn Lomborg > [If every country committed to spending 0.05 per cent of GDP on researching non-carbon-emitting energy technologies, that would cost $25 billion a year, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/if-every-country-committed-to-spending-0-05-per-cent-of-gdp-on/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [For the longest time in Denmark I didn't want to say what I was politically. I thought it was irrelevant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/for-the-longest-time-in-denmark-i-didn-t-want-to-say-what-i-was/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [It seems incontrovertible to me that there is a global warming effect and that it is going to be serious, probably not in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/it-seems-incontrovertible-to-me-that-there-is-a-global-warming-effect/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [I'm an old member of Greenpeace. I worried intensely, as I think most of my friends did, that the world was coming apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/i-m-an-old-member-of-greenpeace-i-worried-intensely-as-i-think-most/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [Even if I was a bad right wing guy, to the extent of whether my arguments are right or wrong, they're right or wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/even-if-i-was-a-bad-right-wing-guy-to-the-extent-of-whether-my/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [Lots of people say we should fly less, heat less, and put on a sweater. But it's not going to happen. People are happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/lots-of-people-say-we-should-fly-less-heat-less-and-put-on-a-sweater/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [Wishful thinking is not sound public policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/wishful-thinking-is-not-sound-public-policy/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [“One of the great ironies of climate change activism today is that many of the movement’s most vocal proponents are also horrified by global…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/one-of-the-great-ironies-of-climate-change-activism-today-is-that/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [“Global temperature and GDP are both rising, and each affects the other… We have to find the right balance between the two factors. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/global-temperature-and-gdp-are-both-rising-and-each-affects-the-other/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [The obvious issue is providing clean drinking water and sanitation to every single human being on earth at the cost of little more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/the-obvious-issue-is-providing-clean-drinking-water-and-sanitation-to/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [My suggestion is that we should first work to ensure the Third World has clean drinking water and sanitation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/my-suggestion-is-that-we-should-first-work-to-ensure-the-third-world/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [“We should not confuse the rising costs of flooding with flooding itself (or indeed with climate change). It is entirely caused by more houses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/we-should-not-confuse-the-rising-costs-of-flooding-with-flooding/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [Money spent on carbon cuts is money we can't use for effective investments in food aid, micronutrients, HIV/AIDS prevention, health and education infrastructure, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/money-spent-on-carbon-cuts-is-money-we-can-t-use-for-effective/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [“The negative impacts (of biofuels) were much greater than most had anticipated...the amount of crops needed to fill an SUV’s fuel tank with biofuel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/the-negative-impacts-of-biofuels-were-much-greater-than-most-had/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [But this is an occupational hazard of being a scientist. You say this is the best information I have and then you realize that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/but-this-is-an-occupational-hazard-of-being-a-scientist-you-say-this/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) [Explore all 76 Bjorn Lomborg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) ## More Adaptation quotes > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [I do think that theater is a great venue for science fiction, and not just adaptations but also original work. I also think some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-einhorn/i-do-think-that-theater-is-a-great-venue-for-science-fiction-and-not/) Edward Einhorn > [“Why I am Passionate and Dedicated 1000% to producing and bringing my books Loving Summer, Bitter Frost, and other book series to the Screen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kailin-gow/why-i-am-passionate-and-dedicated-1000-to-producing-and-bringing-my/) [Kailin Gow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kailin-gow/) > [My familiarity with the successful use of very long steel ropes for mining purposes naturally suggested their adaptation to the new purpose of deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-agassiz/my-familiarity-with-the-successful-use-of-very-long-steel-ropes-for/) Alexander Agassiz > [The survival of the fittest is the ageless law of nature, but the fittest are rarely the strong. The fittest are those endowed with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-smalley/the-survival-of-the-fittest-is-the-ageless-law-of-nature-but-the/) [Dave Smalley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-smalley/) > [The facts of variability, of the struggle for existence, of adaptation to conditions, were notorious enough; but none of us had suspected that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-facts-of-variability-of-the-struggle-for-existence-of-adaptation/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is a law of nature we overlook, that intellectual versatility is the compensation for change, danger, and trouble. An animal perfectly in harmony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-law-of-nature-we-overlook-that-intellectual-versatility-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The world may not be ready yet for the film equivalent of books on tape, but this peculiar phenomenon has arrived in the form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-mitchell/the-world-may-not-be-ready-yet-for-the-film-equivalent-of-books-on/) [Elvis Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-mitchell/) > [“Evolution is more about adaptivity than adaptability.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/evolution-is-more-about-adaptivity-than-adaptability/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [There is change by necessity or adaptation, and there is contrived change or novelty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/there-is-change-by-necessity-or-adaptation-and-there-is-contrived/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The tendency for depression to repeat reflects the normal default settings of a plastic mood system that is open to experience. 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When you pour water in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/you-must-be-shapeless-formless-like-water-when-you-pour-water-in-a/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [“On the rare occasions on which a movie was shown, there was as much suspense in the audience over whether the electricity would hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-caro/on-the-rare-occasions-on-which-a-movie-was-shown-there-was-as-much/) [Robert A. Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-caro/) > [Working on an adaptation is not as satisfying, because it's not your original work: you're interpreting. With 'L.A. Confidential,' I loved the book. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-helgeland/working-on-an-adaptation-is-not-as-satisfying-because-it-s-not-your/) [Brian Helgeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-helgeland/) [Browse all 476 Adaptation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adaptation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“People are panicking about climate change in large part because the media and environmental campaigners tell us to, because politicians overhype the likely effects, and because scientific research is often communicated without crucial context…: humans adapt to their changing earth. They have for millenia… “We don’t just use up the iron or gas that is there and then give up. We get better at finding more, at lower cost, in effect allowing humanity access to ever more and ever cheaper resources… “Once the human propensity for adaptation is taken into account, the numbers on climate change start looking a lot less scary. 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