Changing public Opinion

25 May 2010

Climate Fears Turn to Doubts Among Britons By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL Published: May 24, 2010 LONDON — Last month hundreds of environmental activists crammed into an auditorium here to ponder an anguished question: If the scientific consensus on climate change has not changed, why have so many people turned away from the idea that human activity is warming the planet? Nowhere has this shift in public opinion been more striking than in Britain, where climate change was until this year such a popular priority that in 2008 Parliament enshrined targets for emissions cuts as national law. But since then, the country has evolved into a home base for a thriving group of climate skeptics who have dominated news reports in recent months, apparently convincing many that the threat of warming is vastly exaggerated. A survey in February by the BBC found that only 26 percent of Britons believed that “climate change is happening and is now established as largely manmade,” down from 41 percent in November 2009. A poll conducted for the German magazine Der Spiegel found that 42 percent of Germans feared global warming, down from 62 percent four years earlier. And London’s Science Museum recently announced that a permanent exhibit scheduled to open later this year would be called the Climate Science Gallery — not the Climate Change Gallery as had previously been planned http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/25/science/earth/25climate.html At least the public is showing reasonable scepticism in the face of the conflicting interpretations of inadequate data. But then it was ever the "lowly" who were unafraid to voice doubts about the Emperor's New Clothes (absence of). ...... In the end, it will be what the Earth’s climate DOES, not some media PR campaign, which will settle the matter. One side will be right. One side will be wrong. ..... Lord Monckton wins global warming debate at Oxford Union. “The Union is the world’s most prestigious debating society, with an unparalleled reputation for bringing international guests and speakers to Oxford. It has been established for 182 years, aiming to promote debate and discussion not just in Oxford University, but across the globe.” For what is believed to be the first time ever in England, an audience of university undergraduates has decisively rejected the notion that “global warming” is or could become a global crisis. The only previous defeat for climate extremism among an undergraduate audience was at St. Andrew’s University, Scotland, in the spring of 2009, when the climate extremists were defeated by three votes. Last week, members of the Oxford Union carried the motion “That this House would put economic growth before combating climate change” by 135 votes to 110." See more here http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/05/24/lo....ion/#more-19868 So, like public opinion in general, the opinion of educated youngsters is swinging towards a more reasonable scepticism. Obviously, they are tired of alarmism and tired of being called thick flat-earthers for daring to think outside the orthodox box. ....... Dave Wendt says: May 24, 2010 at 9:06 pm http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/05/24/lo....ion/#more-19868 To me the most significant aspect of this debate triumph is that it was voted by an audience composed of university undergrads. Given the demographics of undergrad populations this means that virtually all of them have spent their entire lives immersed in an ocean of CAGW propaganda. The schools they attended, the entertainment and entertainers they idolized, almost every element of life they have ever been exposed to, has been mobilized to convince them that to “save the planet” they must reject the demon carbon and embrace “greenness” as the ultimate good. Aspects of their education that would enhance their ability for critical thought have been minimized and the notion that it is not what an idea or statement makes you think, but how it makes you feel that is of ultimate importance in judging its merit has been the mantra of their lives. If the CAGW crowd can’t convince that jury on the merits, it really is “much worse than they thought.” The young have always been the primary targets of the collectivist establishment, often to the point where, if you had attempted similar brainwashing on your own children, in your own home, on less politically correct topics, you’d have found yourself the subject of a child abuse investigation in many venues of the western world. If they are losing among the young and are coming to realize that fact, it might provide some explanation for the increasingly bizarre episodes of press release science we have been showered with in recent weeks. ..... Marc Sheppard 29th May 2010 On Monday, the NY Times broke with years of blatant warmist bias in reporting that Climate Fears Turn to Doubts Among Britons. The article cited a February BBC survey which “found that only 26 percent of Britons believed that ‘climate change is happening and is now established as largely manmade,’ down from 41 percent in November 2009.” In uber-green Germany, only 42 percent of citizens worry about global warming now, down from 62 percent in 2006. And Americans rank global warming dead last in a list of 21 problems that concern them, according to a January Pew poll. http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/05/are_climate_alarmists_losing_t.html Unfortunately the politicians all still on board for reasons only they understand!