From Angus Reid Public Opinion:
Half of respondents in the two North American countries think climate change is a fact and is caused by emissions—fewer Britons concur.
While Canadians continue to be more likely than Americans and Britons to blame global warming on man-made emissions, they are not as unwavering about it as they were last year, a new three-country Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.
Overall, half of Canadians (52%, -8 since October) and Americans (49%, +7) say that that global warming is a fact and is mostly caused by emissions from vehicles and industrial facilities. Only 43 per cent of Britons (-4) agree with this assessment.
In the United States, one-in-five respondents (20%, -5) think that global warming is a theory that has not yet been proven, along with 20 per cent of Britons (+2) and 14 per cent of Canadians (=).
More than half of Canadians (55%, -6) believe it is more important to protect the environment, even at the risk of hampering economic growth, while 22 per cent (+4) would prefer to foster economic growth, even at the risk of damaging the environment.
In the United States, 47 per cent of respondents (+2) would emphasize protecting the environment, while 26 per cent (-4) would foster economic growth. The biggest change since last year comes in Britain, where only 40 per cent of respondents would protect the environment (-11) and 33 per cent would prefer to foster economic growth (+11).
Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)
h/t to WUWT reader JB Williamson
Overall, half of Canadians (52%, -8 since October) and Americans (49%, +7) say that that global warming is a fact and is mostly caused by emissions from vehicles and industrial facilities. Only 43 per cent of Britons (-4) agree with this assessment.
Which goes to show that, in the eyes of people who take surveys, weather IS climate. Were a disproportionate number of American respondents from Texas?
To make it easier to understand the numbers:
47% of Brits think Global Warming is either natural or hasn’t been proven
38% of Yanks ” ” ”
35% of Canucks ” ” ”
add a healthy 10-13% of not sures and these numbers equal or exceed the evanglisatas.
It would have been better balanced if there had been a “Is there global warming or are temperatures rises and falls part of the Earth’s natural climate system?”
bring on winter again – UK’s is forecast to be grim again.
It’s daft to ask whether you’re more in favour of economic growth or protecting the environment, when if you don’t believe in cagw you can have both.
The change in figures for the US over the years are interesting. Come on Anthony, you’re just not trying hard enough.
In December 2010, the UK had its second-coldest December in the 350 year record of the CET. It is a wonder that any of them believe in global warming. But they have just had a cold summer and another cold winter will be soon upon them.
Hi I live in the UK, I see what the BBC do to the reports on AGW using their even handed approach (sarc). I tell as many people as possible to use their brains and think about what they are being told on AGW and to spend a hour of their valuable time checking some of the data and its sources. I live within sight of the biggest onshore widfarm in the UK, “Scout Moor” which is being expanded, if the developers have their way. Local Authorities have no say in the outcome of the enquiry, it will be decided by Central Governement after consultation. The bulk of the people interviewed about this, on local radio, had very scant knowledge on the AGW issue, and most of the issues raised were do the “mills” detract from the view. How can you educate without an unbiased media?
Keith:
At September 13, 2011 at 2:36 am you say:
“Overall, half of Canadians (52%, -8 since October) and Americans (49%, +7) say that that global warming is a fact and is mostly caused by emissions from vehicles and industrial facilities. Only 43 per cent of Britons (-4) agree with this assessment.
Which goes to show that, in the eyes of people who take surveys, weather IS climate. Were a disproportionate number of American respondents from Texas?”
Your post is a nice try at spin but a complete FAIL.
The people who took the survey specifically asked about “global warming” (n.b. NOT “weather”) and asked about human and natural causes of “global warming”. So, your suggestion that they misled people by confusing “global warming” with “weather” is completely without foundation.
And the survey discerned that Britons are more doubtful of human-caused global warming than North Americans.
The problem for we Britons is that all the main UK political parties have tied themselves to “global warming”: only one MP voted against the insane Climate Change Bill. Somehow we need to get the politicians to
(a) accept the reality that overwhelming evidence refutes a human cause for global warming
and
(b) proper representation of their electorates would insist that they abandon their adherence to policies based on an assumption of human-caused global warming.
Richard
One big difference between these 3 countries is that Canada has a federal government that actually stated that observations trump computer models. The party that won the last federal election, on May 2, 2011, didn’t mention climate change/global warming at all during the election campaign, and won with a solid majority government and will be in power for the next 4 years unopposed as even the unelected senate is on this governments side.
Off topic, but I am seeking some guidance from the clever folk frequenting this blog.
It is reported in the Australian media, over past days, that arctic sea ice has been reduced to a record minimum, this northern summer. Is this correct? And best source for this (sea ice) information is?
Cheers ….
As a Brit, it is good to see the delusion wearing off in the place where it started. It will be the right place for the edifice to collapse along with the props, and a long overdue overhaul of the BBC. The trend is in the right direction so it is just a matter of time now. There will be a final panic by those who cannot accept defeat or being just plain and arrogantly wrong, but it is on its way to where it belongs.
Some polling in Oz – I don’t have other than a verbal summary – says that about 50% accept AGW science to a degree, but at the same time many of these do not regard it as an immediate danger – there are more fundamental matters of concern, like incomes, health care, education.
The Federal Government, meanwhile, today introduced its “Carbon tax” legislation into Parliament, against strong expressions of public will. There are about 16 Bills to read and digest, according to media.
Rather badly worded questions with a warmist bias. e.g what’s ‘yet’ doing in Q3 ?
Survey also leads the respondent into the belief that Global Warming is still happening when it has
actually stopped for the past few years.
Survey also ignores recent cooling and how that would affect peoples views on CO2 going forward
should it be found that CO2 was ‘innocent all along’.
Whats surprising is that the UK number is as high as 43%.
And GW scientists only have themselves to blame, with predictions about long hotter summers, milder winters etc. etc. Non of which as come to pass. Outside of the London, the summer this year as been awful in the UK. Lots of cloud cover keeping temps down, and very very few spells of sunshine, hence its the dullest one since 1993…….
It could mean that Brits like James Delingpole at the Telegraph, Andrew Montford at Bishop Hill or Richard North at EUReferendum are getting their case across better.
It could also mean that Brits are sick of the hypocrisy of a Prime Minister whose father-in-law earns a £1000 a day from his windfarm scam, and a Deputy Prime Minister whose Spanish wife earns unbelievable sums as a Director of the Spanish Wind Turbine & Solar company, Acciona.
Yours Bufo Toad.
@TBear (Warm Cave in Cold-as-Snow-Sydney)
http://wattsupwiththat.com/reference-pages/sea-ice-page/
It’s about the second lowest at the moment depending which one you use, still heading down at the moment, but unlikely to beat 2007 low I’d imagine. Few more days left yet though!
Occam’s Razor tells me that any changes in climate/weather that have been going on for millions of years have many more important influences than the pathetic contribution that mankind has had in the mere tick of the cosmic clock.
The Al Gores of this planet should look at the real world and not unrealistic/overemphasised computer predictions formulated to allow GreenPeace, WWF, Friends? of the Earth, Plane Stupids,etc., to scam funds to keep their top executives pensions on line!
The UK Coalition is about as poor a collection of politicians this country has had since King Ethelred became the Unready
David Archibald writes: “…and another cold winter will be soon upon [the Brits]”. Not too sure about the scientific basis of your prediction, David, even if successful.
But I’m a pot calling the kettle black here: I keep a toy car in the kitchen freezer. The little man inside is labelled Chris Huhne (our Climate Scam Minister). If my voodoo works, and Mr. Huhne’s ministerial car becomes buried in a snowdrift, remember where you first heard this!
The last two questions split the sceptic vote. Neat way to obfuscate the conclusion that in the UK at least, the sceptics are in the majority
It’s a little unfair to blame only the BBC for alarmism in the UK media. ITV news is no more sceptical and Channel Four news is pretty much as bad as the BBC. Channel Four in general showed The Great Global Warming Swindle some years ago but otherwise is knee-jerk alarmist.
As for newspapers, The Independent and Guardian are the worst for alarmism but all the others tend to parrot the party line. The Daily Mail has Booker and the Telegraph Delingpole but, (correct me if I’m wrong) only as a blogger, not in print. The Telegraph has some of the most egregious Greenpeace/WWF press release cut-and-paste jobs in the press. Otherwise all the media of Right, Left or anything else is pretty uniformly alarmist.
To me the fact that pollsters are even asking is an indication of the insecure stance of the “orthodoxy”.
Hi RIchard,
You misunderstand me, it would seem. If I were an AGW spin-merchant I’d be using a pseudonym, something like Indolent Youth 😉
People don’t need to be misled to confuse global warming with weather; they do it all the time, to judge by the results of this and other surveys, and comments in the media. Hence, from the report:
Here in the UK we’ve seen the numbers supporting the AGW view falling ever since Climategate, though I’m sure most surveys have given less support for AGW than this survey has come up with. I dare say the good work of the GWPF has helped, but I’m fairly sure that it’s a few years of cold that has swung it, and a few more might statistically disprove AGW too. A healthy distrust of politicians, aided by the expenses scandals, has possibly also opened more eyes to the view that, if they’re virtually unanimous in their support of AGW then something probably stinks.
The increase in those supporting AGW in the US of A since the last survey by Angus Reid in October stands out. Climategate has been just as big news over there, the last couple of winters have been brutal and there’s at least been some MSM exposure for non-Team science and opinion. So why the 7% increase? I’d put money on it being due to this summer’s Texas drought and heatwave. The general public are less likely to support a theory that is incongruous with their own experiences, but some will be swung back to AGW if they’re seeing a hot summer. One more cold winter and the figures will drop again.
All the scientific evidence in the world does fairly little to change public opinion. It’s personal experience, and proof of being lied to, that causes the swings. Given the lack of MSM coverage since Climategate of the ongoing Team malfeasance, recent changes in survey results are more influenced by personal experience of the weather, it would seem.
The masses are much more stupid down under:
53% believe climate change causes tsunamis
40% believe climate change causes earthquakes
37% believe climate change causes volcanic eruptions
93% think CO2 constitutes more than 1% of the atmosphere
47% think CO2 is ‘pollution’
37% think we should try to reduce carbon in the body
44% think food and drink would be safer if it had no carbon or CO2 in it
TBear (Warm Cave in Cold-as-Snow-Sydney) says:
September 13, 2011 at 3:04 am
Off topic, but I am seeking some guidance from the clever folk frequenting this blog.
It is reported in the Australian media, over past days, that arctic sea ice has been reduced to a record minimum, this northern summer. Is this correct? And best source for this (sea ice) information is?
=====================
This year it looks like you get a choice:
• Earliest End To The Arctic Melt Season On Record? — Or –Is ‘Arctic sea ice is melting at its fastest pace in almost 40 years?’
http://www.real-science.com/uncategorized/earliest-arctic-melt-season-record
The poll was conducted from August 25 to September 2, 2011. Given that most people have short memories for weather, could the summer heat in N America and the lack of sunshine in UK have increased the divergence between the two regions? I wonder what the result would have been if they had polled 6 months earlier.
Last year in a survey of Americans 40% couldn’t name a fossil fuel.
Maybe they were asked about global warming.
Just remember “rational ignorance.”
The fact that opinion polls are created about this issue is proof it is a poltical, not scientific, issue.