Thursday 5 February 2009
US PUBLIC DO NOT BELIEVE CLIMATE THEORY
This article informs us that a majority of the US public do not believe that man made CO2 is causing serious climate change. The numbers taking this view are also increasing despite the huge propaganda campaign by Al Gore and others. This will make it much harder for any goverment to bring in costly bureaucratic measures to reduce CO2 emissions, especially on top of the economic turmoil.
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You had better write to these researchers and tell them they got the numbers wrong. It's more like 90% against AGW, right?
ReplyDeleteTim you miss the point.
ReplyDeleteDespite two decades of media scaremongering.The public remains generally unconvinced.
While polls results by themselves are not validating any science claims.It does make revealing observations on what people generally think.
No, you miss the point. You do not understand the simple concept of sample bias, or you are dishonest enough to ignore it and use the figure that supports your cause. Either way you have demonstrated that you are not qualified to criticise scientists or reliably understand complex natural processes. You have no credibility and no-one should listen to your opinions on climate change or anything else of importance.
ReplyDeleteFor anyone who listens to Derek and doesn't follow what I'm saying: Derek held a poll asking if visitors believed CO2 was the main cause of climate change. The result was that 88% of almost 1000 visitors did not. Derek claimed that this was representative of the wider population and their propensity to ignore authority in general, even after I explained to him that his poll was subject to sample bias. The link Derek just posted reveals that the actual figure is very likely to be significantly lower. Even now he can't admit that his poll has sample bias and he was wrong to generalise his conclusion. Is this who you should be listening to?
His poll result post is here: http://climatescience.blogspot.com/2008/12/poll-closed-88-reject-co2-theory.html
Amusingly, he ended that particular post with the statement: "There is real cynicism of government. Far from solving our problems, many people perceive the goverment IS the problem." Which he has been contradicting during his discussion with me by claiming that government will solve our financial and economic problems. Examples are: "the government has helped the people and they know that it is on their side" and "If things go wrong then the government has to deal with it." Why would you listen to this guy?
OK Tim, I accept there may be a little bias in my poll, but the result was overwhelming. As you can see even national polls comfirm the considerable scepticism that exists in spite of the massive propaganda campaign in the media.
ReplyDeleteMy comments about governments have to taken in context. We can still criticise our government when we think it is wrong. What I said was that democracy was the best form of government and that if a democratic elected government did not listen to the opinions of its people then it would soon be out of office and replaced. That is the great strength of democracy.
Some progress!
ReplyDeleteIt's like taking a poll at a comic book convention and concluding that the whole population reads comic books. Even if it's true you can't use the data to support the conclusion. You would have castigated Gore for doing the same. Think about it.
I would suggest you seriously re-evaluate your fundamental position on many topics if this incident is any indication of the way you use skewed data to draw specious conclusions.
Many cognitive biases have been identified that influence the way the brain interprets information, leading to incorrect conclusions and subsequent action (or inaction). One that you should be aware of is confirmation bias: the tendency to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions (source: Wikipedia).
It might be worth you researching other aspects of man's impact on the planet where the picture is not so ambiguous. We don't have to be certain about climate change to know that the direction we are taking will lead to disaster. I recommend The World Without Us by Alan Weisman or Collapse by Jared Diamond.
Popular opinion is a distraction and can't be used as evidence for anything. As you put in one of your more insightful posts criticising modern economics, majorities can be fundamentally wrong.
Regarding democracy, it is only effective if it the people make decisions for themselves. Political apathy, as a result of elevated material living standards and social isolation, means that the population is no longer engaged with the democratic process. It is not just about voting in every election. Otherwise our "representatives" and other powerful interests will take our power and use it for their own ends. In that sense I respect your dissent, but disagree with your methods and many of your conclusions. This is the thrust of the following article:
http://permaculture.org.au/2009/02/06/building-the-sustainable-economy/