The BBC have just published details of a poll conducted by Populus that shows a big drop in belief in AGW - here's the polling data
And here's an excerpt from their report:
"'Exaggerated risks'
Of the 75% of respondents who agreed that climate change was happening, one-in-three people felt that the potential consequences of living in a warming world had been exaggerated, up from one-in-five people in November.
The number of people who felt the risks of climate change had been understated dropped from 38% in November to 25% in the latest poll.
During the intervening period between the two polls, there was a series of high profile climate-related stories, some of which made grim reading for climate scientists and policymakers.
In November, the contents of emails stolen from a leading climate science unit led to accusations that a number of researchers had manipulated data.
And in January, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) admitted that it had made a mistake in asserting that Himalayan glaciers could disappear by 2035.
All of this happened against the backdrop of many parts of the northern hemisphere being gripped by a prolonged period of sub-zero temperatures.
However, 73% of the people who said that they were aware of the "science flaws" stories stated that the media coverage had not changed their views about the risks of climate change.
"People tend to make judgements over time based on a whole range of different sources," Mr Simmonds explained.
He added that it was very unusual for single events to have a dramatic impact on public opinion.
"Normally, people make their minds up over a longer period and are influenced by all the voices they hear, what they read and what people they know are talking about."
So - media coverage is helping, but word of mouth is making a big difference too [I know from my own friends what impact a few simple facts can have]. Opinion has shifted massively away from AGW... great news - the door is unlocked, all we have to do now is push it wide open.
That's really quite remarkable, especially considering the story hasn't been on the BBC all that much.
ReplyDeleteMy instinct (for what it's worth) is that people have felt quite bludgeoned into believing the man-made climate change disaster chaos nightmare scenarios, and have accepted it begrudgingly and reluctantly because it seemed that there were no credible alternative opinions.
The assumption was that all teh good, quality scientists said 'yes' and dodgy scammers were saying 'no'. We now know that this isn't true, and that changes everything.
As politicians have been using Climate Change as an excuse to tax and control even more, I think people have leapt on any sign of problems with the science behind it very keenly. No-one wants to believe man made climate change is real except the people who a) hate capitalism or b) whose jobs depend on the 'Green Industry'. Everyone else? They're going to clutch any straws.
I know, for example, I'm clutching these straws for dear life.
The antidote.......
ReplyDeletehttp://grumpyoldtwat.blogspot.com/2010/02/global-warming-antidote.html
....and yet the BBC continues to pour out its endless stream of alarmist propaganda.
ReplyDeleteIts reporters continue to overlook key errors in the IPPC report, glaciers are ok and little bit on the Amazon is ok (incorrect though) but nothing about anything else.
They treat ClimateGate as if it's an IT/technology issue and pretend the content of the emails is invisible.
Whenever a climate spokesperson is needed - guess what? An alarmist is wheeled out.
The recent winters are just "weather". 9 years of global cooling is just "weather".
...and so it goes on. But they wont change, their pensions are all tied into companies that need to see MMGW tax rises, green policies etc etc.
I feel let down by Dr Jones and his cronies. I am as green as the next person. Well, probably Greener, as I was, for several years, chairman of an Ecology Party/Green Party branch, but I resigned my membership when the party became a vehicle for various loony prima donas.
ReplyDeleteI resent the fact that people are using the AGW lie -and that is what I now fear it is- to beat the poorer people in society to tax them unjustly.
It makes me -almost- want to give up recycling and leading a greener lifestyle. But why should I let people in the AGW lie camp influence me to that extent?
Thatsnews:
ReplyDeleteHere's for your consideration and edification:
"As one mild mannered conservative writer some time ago said of many of them, 'the environmentalists at first seem to be very nice, likeable people but the more you listen to them and learn of their true intentions, the more you want to take a club to them.""
Consider yourself clubbed.
Plato;
ReplyDeleteNotice how the BBC slices and dices its own survey stats, referring to the "75% of respondents who agreed that climate change was happening", and then saying 1/3 of those (which = 25% of the total) doubt the seriousness of it ... which means there is a 50-50 split now.
And another way of slicing would be '74% now doubt that man has anything to do with climate change'. Same figures, different selection and wording.
Dear Plato; How I agree that everyone should keep pushing at every opportunity. I've got several people interested by just dropping the subject into conversations - not too difficult when most of us mention that other subject: weather. I prefer not to use the word "manipulated" as it doesn't sound too serious, when looking over the scores of deliberate falsifications made it's more like criminal fraud.
ReplyDeleteThanks to Brian H for pointing out how the BBC put a bias on the results.