Results of the latest Gallup poll:
Worldwide, Blame for Climate Change Falls on Humans
Americans among least likely to attribute to human causes
by Julie Ray and Anita Pugliese
WASHINGTON, D.C. — World residents are more likely to blame human activities than nature for the rise in temperatures associated with climate change. Thirty-five percent of adults in 111 countries in 2010 say global warming results from human activities, while less than half as many (14%) blame nature. Thirteen percent fault both.
Lawrence Solomon makes an observation:
In Sub-Saharan Africa, where 54% are not aware that their climate is alleged to be warming, a mere 22% have heard of the global warming issue and predominantly blame humans for the warming. In undeveloped Asia, 48% are unaware that the climate is warming and 27% predominantly blame humans.
It would seem that access to MSM figures greatly in that trend, many of the world’s poorest have no radio, TV, newspapers, or Internet access. But one has to wonder, if the people that live closest to the earth (such as natives in sub-Saharan Africa) can’t detect changes around them, are we manufacturing a crisis that we wouldn’t notice otherwise?
The Gallup poll is available here (PDF) and questions, and the responses by region and by country, are here.
Both those links at the bottom go to the same PDF document. Both seem to show the results but not a list of the questions used or much discussion of methodology.
Taken broadly, amongst informed populations this is a measure of how they feel towards authorities.
In developed Asia, authorities apparently get a lot of respect, while the US is literally home to the “show me” state. We learned long ago that authorities are just as full of BS as everyone else.
Given the amount of resources that have been marshalled to the CAGW cause it is encouraging that so many do not “believe”.
The trick (sorry about my word choice) will be to find a alternative way for those dependent on CAGW research funding to earn a decent living. That’s seems to be the best way reverse the belief in CAGW given that “evidence” continues to be misinterpreted and altered to serve the watermelon cause.
Of course global warming is mankind’s fault. We were stupid enough to invent the phrase and gullible enough to believe it.
Combet: 10 big errors
by Bob Carter, David Evans, Stewart Franks & Bill Kininmonth
April 17, 2011
Ten more faulty assertions from Climate Minister Combet
Climate Minister Greg Combet delivered a major speech at the National Press Club on April 13th entitled “Tackling Climate change in the National Interest”.
The earlier part of Minister Combet’s speech traversed various scientific issues, which we analyse below, putting his statements in bold type, and our commentary in ordinary type.
——————————————————————————–
1. The evidence of atmospheric warming is very strong, and the potential for dangerous climate impacts is high. The scientific advice is that carbon (sic) pollution (sic) is the cause.
——————————————————————————–
Atmospheric warming and cooling happen the whole time naturally, and global temperature has been level or cooling gently for the last ten years; and that despite the fact that a quarter of all human emissions of carbon dioxide, over all of history, have occurred since 1998.
No empirical evidence has been provided, and especially not by the IPCC or Professor Steffen, that a significant part of the late 20th century warming was caused by human carbon dioxide emissions. Instead, warming alarmist arguments rely upon computer modelling and assumptions about positive feedback from moist air and clouds.
Neither has any evidence been provided that the number or intensity of dangerous climatic events has in the near past fallen outside of normal natural variation.
The term “carbon pollution” is a pejorative term that displays ignorance by those who use it. In reality, the public debate is about the magnitude of the warming effect exercised by human carbon dioxide emissions. Carbon dioxide from whatever source is an environmental benefice that sustains most of the ecosystems on planet Earth.
————————————————-
Read the remainder: http://www.quadrant.org.au/blogs/doomed-planet/2011/04/global-warming-10-big-errors
Finally, with that table, there is some proof that Americans are the smartest people on the planet!
” … are we manufacturing a crisis that we wouldn’t notice otherwise?”
Absolutely! The whole shebang is a “man-made crisis“. And I don’t mean that mankind is responsible for a few tenths of a degree of global temperature rise, but rather a faux-crisis has been created to convince us to hand over control of our lives, our funds and the energy required for modern life to those who will save us from our fossil-fuelled-folly.
“But one has to wonder, if the people that live closest to the earth (such as natives in sub-Saharan Africa) can’t detect changes around them, are we manufacturing a crisis that we wouldn’t notice otherwise?”
With the same precision as used in determining global temperature, I’m 99.84792% certain we probably wouldn’t have noticed an unprecedented crisis otherwise until the year 2085.
“But one has to wonder, if the people that live closest to the earth (such as natives in sub-Saharan Africa) can’t detect changes around them, are we manufacturing a crisis that we wouldn’t notice otherwise?”
So because someone with no way of monitoring decade changes in global temperature hasn’t noticed the changes it’s nothing to worry about?
A Kalahari bushman hasn’t noticed the ice caps are melting therefore it all fine.
That’s got to be one for Skeptic quote of the week!
Don’tcha love that little footnote: * Volunteered Response. [Both *]
1 in 7 volunteered an answer not presented to them.
I wonder why the US is leading the way on it’s natural causes. It’s the only place that puts natural causes higher than man-made unless I missed one.
I guess it’ll catch up with the rest of the World in a few years times.
If we humans have set the world’s thermostat so high, then why am I suddenly being deprived of bikini ads, not to mention the promise of travelling to see real live bikinis?
I feel betrayed by our industrial societies.
Given enough time and climate variance, humans will indeed notice the change. For example over 400 years ago, the mismatch of the Julian Calendar with the solar year became evident to church leaders with cold weather and the lack of Easter Lilies during the Easter season. (No doubt also compounded by a colder climate.) This gave impetus to develop the more accurate Gregorian Calendar.
I sincerely wish that instead of spending more money on research for these kinds of polls, they use the money to build schools for impoverished children. These people don’t need to be lectured on how to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. They need running water, safe and effective means to generate electricity and heat their homes and, furthermore, the opportunity to receive an education which they, in turn, will use to better the lives of all those in their communities.
Of course, they are manufacturing a crisis that we would not have noticed. In fact, we have not noticed it yet as it is not happening.
What gives the warmist/alarmists traction is that changes in temperature are so small that people cannot detect them at all in their daily lives. Only by taking temperature data, doing a value added adjustment to produce paper warming, can they then try to alarm the public..
Here is another subterfuge in the poll:
1. Temperature rise is a part of GW or CC.
2. Do you think rising temperatures are ….
#1 a true statement. But it plants the seed that temp rise is only caused by GW or CC.
#2 assumes that Temperatures ARE rising.
Thanks to #1, Rising Temperatures must be linked to GW or CC.
And now we ask if rising Temps are caused by humans or nature to imply human caused GW.
David Copperfield could learn a few things about misdirection from Gallop.
Here’s my answer. Temperatures where I live [central Houston, TX] might be rising. If they are, it is mostly because of human activities causing an increased Urban Heat Island effect. Houston’s population gained > 1.9 million people from 1990 to 2011 to its current 6.1 million. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Houston
That’s human induced activity, alright. It might even count as local climate change. But it is only evidence of UHI effect; it is not evidence of Global Warming.
One of the first things that prompted me to be more skeptical was my experience of mid-July, early-August high temperatures in my home state. I’ve lived here for 35-plus years, and temperatures of 95-plus degrees fahrenheit are pretty standard for that time of year.
When I started hearing people saying things like, “Boy, it’s hot. You can really tell that global warming’s happening,” in response to the uncomfortably high temperatures, my BS alarm naturally started sounding. My response would always be a sarcastic “Yeah, it’s never been 95 degrees here in mid-July before. Cue the apocalypse.”
I think it’s quite telling that indigenous populations can’t naturally tell there’s global warming happening unless big brother’s whispering it into their ears. Belief can be a powerful thing.
Well, nobody asked me for my tuppence ha’penny worth!
Lawrence Solomon has forgotten that the people in sub-Sahran Africa haven’t been sufficiently “educated” so they wouldn’t be able to notice things like drought, or changes in their environment. However we in Western Europe (PDREU/EUSR) are constantly being “educated” to believe in Climate Change & Global Warming & rising sea-levels! Was down at Exmouth Docks the other day, a fella there told me that the sea rose & fell twice that day! :-)) sarc off
All this goes to show is that the rest of the world was never ready for the exporting of stupidity that inevitably happens from a nation that so cherishes freedom of speech.
Yes, world, not every idea that is spawned in such a nation is worth thinking about. It’s not that American’s are dumb, quite the opposite, it’s that we’ll listen to BS long enough to watch it walk out the door when the money starts talking.
See http://joannenova.com.au/2011/04/nearly-80-of-chinese-people-are-skeptics-world-wide-poll/#more-14583 for a more balanced view.
I do agree that humans are to blame for global warming (..or cooling in any case, as things go): In special those humans of the liberal kind: They created it 🙂
If I lived in a large city in Developed Asia, I’d say “A result of human activities”, too.
😎
Aboriginal peoples as a rule have extensive and detailed oral histories. If they aren’t aware of what happened in “grandfather’s grandfather’s time” they run the risk of being dead for not anticipating long term changes.
I guess as far as you’re concerned, there just isn’t even the tiniest chance the whole CAGW meme is a total crock.
H.R.
With the same precision as used in determining global temperature, I’m 99.84792% certain we probably wouldn’t have noticed an unprecedented crisis otherwise until the year 2085.
What’s so special about 2085 that will make us suddenly realized there is a problem? I’m sure you were just trying to be cute with that remark, but you’re essentially calling the global population stupid, or at least ill informed.
The major story here is that in both the US and the World as a whole, only about 1/3 of the populate buy the line that humans are responsible for a global warming crisis.
To me that looks like the end for the alarmists.
MikeEE
The report says:
“””Survey Methods
Results are based on face-to-face and telephone interviews conducted in 2010 with approximately 1,000 adults, aged 15 and older, in 111 countries. For results based on the total sample in each country, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error ranges from ±1.7 percentage points to ±5.7 percentage points. The margin of error reflects the influence of data weighting. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.”””
111 countries sound impressive. But is the sample size 1000 per country or 9 people per country, ? If the latter I do not think my stats tutor would have let me get away with a report like this especially with all the caveats.