While paid political activist Bill McKibben wails about the “new normal” of supposed climate change driven severe weather stated here on CNN, buoyed by emotion but which is totally unsupported by the data, we have this new inconvenient truth:
Climate Change Poll Finds Most Americans Unwilling To Pay Higher Energy Costs
WASHINGTON — Only one in five Americans would be willing to pay significantly more for gas or electricity, even if they were assured that it meant solving the climate change crisis, according to a HuffPost/YouGov poll conducted this week.
Most Americans, according to the survey, believe that climate change is occurring and that it causes serious problems, including more frequent and severe natural disasters. But only 21 percent said they would be willing to pay 50 percent more at the pump or for electricity bills to fight it. Fifty-four percent say they would be unwilling to do so. The rest were unsure.
The reluctance to pay significantly more for energy to stop climate change isn’t limited to deniers or to those who think it’s an insignificant problem.
More here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/blackberry/p.html?id=2067125
Remember these sorts of pronouncements post hurricane Katrina?
Hurricanes were supposed to get bigger and more frequent, instead we’ve had an unbroken 7 years long drought for major Cat3-5 hurricanes, and Sandy wasn’t even a hurricane when it made landfall. The last Category 3 or stronger storm to make landfall was Hurricane Wilma making landfall on October 24, 2005. The more than seven years (2568 days as of today – ref here) since then is the longest such span in over a century.
Challenge to readers: find a similar buzzword statement of “new normal” made in the press on on blogs post-Katrina
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If you have to pay more for your energy use, you will have to work more, therefore spend more energy in the system, thus, produce more pollution and CO2. Since close to 90% of our energy, comes from fossil, spending more in on place will consume more fossil in another place. Make sense?
The New Normal is that a hurricane is what I call it. A Post Tropical Storm is a hurricane if it is windy and has rainfall. Just as 65% more tornados today is true if I see on TV 65% more video of tornados than my parents saw. The New Normal is that reality is that which I experience and recall.
Like Schrodinger’s Cat, a thing “is” until it is proven it “is not” by ME. (A false understanding of Schrodinger’s Cat, but a popular misconception and a useful one for many.) Today, Gore created the “cat”, i.e. CAGW while McKibben became the observer. As long as McKibben does not open the box, Gore is correct. And as long as McKibben does not internalize the definition of “hurricane”, Sandy was a hurricane. YOU call it not a hurricane, but what do you know? The box is still closed as far as he sees.
Hum, I suppose this means that the average person is not as stupid or foolish as all to many pendents and advocates on any side of any question think.
Just heard Bloomberg on the news criticizing the power companies for not doing enough to restore supply. Who will take the blame for inadequate protection against storm surges, which had been known for years to be a major threat to New York? If energy prices went up by 50%, no-one would ever have the resources to build the needed flood prevention systems.
Let’s ask those people living on the East Coast how they like living without power, or gasoline. They’re living the carbon free lifestyle.
To Bill McKibben:
I’m willing to offer you my 2 cents worth…
I am sure that here in Britain a similarly large proportion of the population would be unwilling to pay more for their energy. But household energy bills are expected to rise by at least 30% over the next few years to pay for renewables. That is around US$500 extra for the average household.
Now if only our feckless politicians can be restrained from doing serious economic damage with panic-stricken carbon strangulation policies, another lustrum or two of no warming will make it obvious even to them that such policies are futile and unproductive.
Most Americans are wise, here in UK we have our countryside blighted by useless wind turbines that only work when the wind blows from a certain direction or a certain speed. We cannot use incandescent light bulbs because they are deemed by the EU as inefficient, instead we use “energy saving bulbs” that give a light that makes everyone look as if they are seriously ill. Some people are seriously ill because they have fallen down stairs because the things take so long to warm up! Our energy bills have rocketed because the government has decided that “green energy” needs subsidy, so the subsidies come from taxes on non-green energy. Petrol, diesel and air-fares are all taxed as are cars based on CO2/km output.
The one good thing that has happened is that the majority of us British realise we are being conned and the whole nasty mess is about to unravel because most of these taxes are instigated by the EU, telling our government that the world must reduce CO2 emissions. More and more people are sick and tired of being dictated to by an organisation that is very reminiscent of 1960’s Eastern European governments. That coupled with the Euro crisis and the current mood of our government means that (in my view) we will be distancing ourselves from the EU sooner than most people think.
Well done the citizens of the USA for taking a lead on this!
I wonder why McKibben, President DingleBarry, and the Mayors Doomberg and Krispy Kreme are not telling the blackout victims to man-up and be thankful that they are saving the planet by going full-green?
Dennis Nikols says:
November 3, 2012 at 11:16 am
Hum, I suppose this means that the average person is not as stupid or foolish as all to many pendents and advocates on any side of any question think
No Dennis. “Most Americans, according to the survey, believe that climate change is occurring and that it causes serious problems, including more frequent and severe natural disasters”
Hurricanes are becoming extinct just as the models predicted! Its worse then we thought. Our grand children will not know what a hurricane is.
/sarc (just in case there was any doubt)
There is no worse sin than when a true believer in CACC refuses to make substantial changes in their own carbon emissions, or move out of flood zones, or refuse to have children, or pay much more for low carbon energy or products made with said energy. It is a blasphemy against the IPCC.
The hypocrisy of the climate change horde has no equal in modern society.
I’ll say it again – the only people who actually get aKICK OUT OF “climate change driven disasters” are the very ones who caterwaul about the dangers.
Their gloating over the odd disaster is really sickening – where is the compassion ?
Ever wonder why the people who are “willing to pay more” . . . don’t? Nothing is stopping them from writing checks. I think what they really mean is they are willing to spend more of your money.
Bloke down the pub says:
November 3, 2012 at 11:22 am
Just heard Bloomberg on the news criticizing the power companies for not doing enough to restore supply.
================================================================
The union linemen will take 3 times longer to restore power than other crews.
Simon Filiatrault says:
November 3, 2012 at 11:14 am
Yes. I tend to argue in a simpler (IMHO) way: Renewable energy contraptions get subsidies. Therefore they lead to capital misallocation, rewarding failure, and a less efficient system results. A less efficient system uses more resources to achieve the same overall performance.
Whenever you see subsidies you see inefficiency happening.
I thought he argues this is the future. Now it’s the new normal?
I’ve never known anyone who has ‘enjoyed’ catastrophe and human misery for political gain as much as McKibben.
He is debating fossil fuels with Alex Epstein on Monday (5th Nov) at Duke University. I fear (hope) that, as Judith Curry said of Michael Mann with respect to his impending DC libel court case, “I fear the outcome will not bode well for you”. Amen to that.
If Americans are so “unwilling to pay significantly more for gas or electricity,” then they need to simply reach for their wallet the very moment a big nasty Keynsian offers them jobs in the “renewable” sector.
Blade says:
November 3, 2012 at 11:56 am
I wonder why McKibben, President DingleBarry, and the Mayors Doomberg and Krispy Kreme are not telling the blackout victims to man-up and be thankful that they are saving the planet by going full-green?
Hilarious! Made my day.
I note that the loudest screaming out of the Sandy-stricken area is from people who want energy to be available. This is a vision of the future in a climate-change-limited energy scheme for anyone who cares to notice.
Zeke says:
November 3, 2012 at 1:24 pm
“If Americans are so “unwilling to pay significantly more for gas or electricity,” then they need to simply reach for their wallet the very moment a big nasty Keynsian offers them jobs in the “renewable” sector.”
The big nasty Keynesian made sure half of Americans don’t pay income tax as well. That’s how they roll.
“Only 1 in 5 Americans would be willing to pay significantly more”
Well then obviously more must be taken from the 4 against their will, right Mr. McKibben?
The stakes are that high.
The 1 must seize (through whatever means is necessary) the power to force the 4 to do what must be done.
If it requires misuse of government resources, coercion, propaganda, deceit, collusion, intimidation, theft and fraud so be it. It must be done.
No matter how much the 4 complains, objects or resists.
If the public willingness shrinks to 1 in 20, the 1 must still prevail at any and all costs.
The severity of the circumstance dictates only one outcome is acceptable even if means the 20 must die.
Mr. KcKibben,
Why don’t you just come clean and admit that your mission is indeed that important?
Or you could just shut up and go get an honest job.
Katrina + new normal
You can read dozens here.
http://www.google.com/search?pz=1&cf=all&ned=uk&hl=en&tbm=nws&gl=uk&as_q=katrina&as_epq=new%20normal&as_occt=any&as_drrb=a&tbs=ar%3A1&authuser=0