By Hayden Smith, Metro, 17 June 2010
High levels of scepticism and indifference among Britons continue to dog efforts to get the country to go greener, a Europe-wide study has concluded.
We continue to lag behind other major nations in our attitude to and appetite for tackling climate change. Less than a third of Britons believe the issue is ‘serious and urgent’ and requires ‘radical steps’.
A similar number of people doubt whether climate change is happening at all, according to the study.
This scepticism has contributed to the 2.1 tonnes of CO2 generated per house each year from electricity use – the highest of all ten countries examined by researchers at Imperial College London.
A little more than half of Britons are ‘quite’ or ‘very concerned’ about climate change. In contrast in Spain, which topped the poll, three-quarters said they were at least quite concerned. [Climate Change Minister] Greg Barker said he was encouraged by nine in ten Britons saying they would make changes if given financial support.
‘I think the British are inherently quite sceptical about theoretical politics and science and maybe a little more cautious than some countries in Europe,’ he said.
‘But I am convinced British people want to do something about it.’
Prof Nigel Brandon of ICL said the study, commissioned by EDF Energy for Green Britain Day, said: ‘It all helps to build a more complete picture of how habits follow attitudes when it comes to the environment.’
Britain came sixth in the poll of 5,700 people across Europe.
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Again the word hypothesis is being used in connection with proof (see Ken Hall). At least get your terminology right. Only theories can be proved or disproved. A hypothesis by its very nature cannot be tested. It is an explanation that seems to work and is logical. The classic is Avagadro’s hypothesis – google it. Darwin’s theory of evolution is not a theory but a hypothesis – there is no way to test it.
‘But I am convinced British people want to do something about it.’
A few weeks ago, we performed an electoral moronectomy. And while it is good to be rid of the Brown thing, the replacements are no better. Our political ‘elite’ is absolutely no practical use to man nor beast. Yet they still want to be considered the elite, and still want to preserve their wealth and power at existing levels. This is why we have to be convinced of
sustainabilitysubsistence as a future life style.The trouble is, we can’t even use the old method of shooting a few to encourage the others; they spend large amounts of our money on their security.
Cloud-cuckoo land! Aristophanes joins Orwell as our future.
good of him to be convinced on my behalf that I want to do something about a problem that doesn’t exist.
I don’t usually post ad hominems, but that British politician sure looks like a sissy.
“[Climate Change Minister] Greg Barker said he was encouraged by nine in ten Britons saying they would make changes if given financial support.”
Has an enterprising conservative just realised another way to make a buck, for which he cann’t even be blamed.
It was the previous administration that oversaw the market distortion of offering UNeconomic feed in tarrifs to consumers. The new partners in the UK’s Condemocratic coalition don’t think these were uneconomic enough, saying:-
, and even George Monbiot thinks the whole idea is just a grand scam , pointing out
A world-wide survey would probably show through hockey stick statistics that almost all countries are well behind the rest of the world.
“I think the British are inherently quite sceptical about theoretical politics and science and maybe a little more cautious than some countries in Europe…”
No s**t Sherlock! Now how about investigating WHY this is instead of pouring more taxpayers millions into trying to convince us otherwise.
What Britons, and which UK?…Do you mean that obscure EU colony governed from Brussels?
stevengoddard says:
June 17, 2010 at 9:25 pm
Poll question:
* If the government gives you money, will you take it?
_____________________________________________________________________
HECK NO!
Government money always comes with hidden strings and intrusion into your life.
For example during the drought a few years ago, the state of North Carolina made loads of hay available at cost plus transportation. To BUY this hay you had to get a USDA Premises ID that put a permanent Encumbrance on your deed. A premises does not have the Constitutional rights attached to it that property does.
So I called the hay man I used to buy from in New Hampshire, got together with some friends, brought in a truckload of New Hampshire hay and we split it. I also introduced him to my feed dealer. He has been a good customer of my northern hay man ever since.
‘beware of Greeks bearing gifts’ That Trojan horse can be a real killer
Paul Clark says:
June 17, 2010 at 11:33 pm
“What I want to see is with regard to this quote:
“This scepticism has contributed to the 2.1 tonnes of CO2 generated per house each year from electricity use – the highest of all ten countries examined by researchers at Imperial College London.”
… I would like to see which countries were surveyed. Because it may not be “climate scepticism” which leads to Britain’s greater power usage but factors like economic activity and heating demands ….”
_______________________________________________________________________
Al Gored says:
June 18, 2010 at 12:26 am
Hope you’ll report back on this. Could be very interesting indeed….
In any case, I am 99.9% certain that it is not due to “climate scepticism.” That’s just toooo convenient and, of course, too ridiculous.
________________________________________________________________
According to another Brit the home electric costs are about 5,000 pounds/yr or $7400/yr I don’t know about you but to me that is a very healthy chunk of change. Thanks to the increase in cost over the last couple of years, I have already cut my energy usage to the bone. About the only thing else I can do is hitch an equine to a cart to make the trip to go grocery shopping. Wouldn’t the shopkeepers and the town just love that….. especially when they step in it.
@kate
‘Thatcher reinforced the CO2-pollution = Man-made Global Warming story, as a means of beating the miners union’
Greta idea…just such a pity that history lends no credence to it. The NUM was completely beaten and to all practical purposes ‘dead’ in 1985. Mrs Thatcher made her intervention in 1988.
Whatever her motive, it wasn’t as a means to beat a foe that had effectively disappeared three years previously.
“[Climate Change Minister] Greg Barker said he was encouraged by nine in ten Britons saying they would make changes if given financial support.”
What use is a government grant for committing suicide?
Gareth Phillips says:
June 18, 2010 at 1:15 am
Well said ken, I am in the famed Glastonbury festival for the next 10 days and many many people I meet there from alternate/left wing/Trad Hippy and Green backgrounds are thoroughly fed up with being force fed dodge science and dubious facts to support a Capitalist society that having made a fortune trashing the environment, now want to make another fortune on the back of imaginary ecologcal issues. They may be wide eyed alternate society fans, but they can spot a scam just as easily as anyone else.
_________________________________________________________________________
Gareth, please do me a favor and spread the word about the difference between Corporatism (what we have now) and Capitalism. The Corporatists are intentionally giving capitalism a bad rep because they want a “socialism” (read neo-feudalism) with them in complete control.
“The first stage of fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of State and corporate power” –Benito Mussolini (1883-1945), Dictator of Italy
True capitalism is actually us little guys taking our hard earned wealth, our labor and reinvesting it to produce more wealth that is usable products and services. The classic example is a farmer saving some wheat to plant in the spring instead of eating or selling it.
No one ever notices the small businesses but they are what is really important to a countries economy:
Statistics for US small business
* Represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms.
* Employ half of all private sector employees.
* Pay more than 45 percent of total U.S. private payroll.
* Have generated 60 to 80 percent of net new jobs annually over the last decade.
* Create more than 50 percent of nonfarm private gross domestic product (GDP).
* Supplied more than 23 percent of the total value of federal prime contracts in FY 2005.
* Produce 13 to 14 times more patents per employee than large patenting firms. These patents are twice as likely as large firm patents to be among the one percent most cited.
* Are employers of 41 percent of high tech workers (such as scientists, engineers, and computer workers).
* Are 53 percent home-based and 3 percent franchises.
* Made up 97 percent of all identified exporters and produced 28.6 percent of the known export value in FY 2004.
Easy….! I got it!. If you, dear young lad, want to impose to your already suffering people all the green policies they don’t believe in, just make UNESCO declare, that oscure EU island province, a humanity nature’s santuary, then it will be a crime not to follow green policies.
“A little more than half of Britons are ‘quite’ or ‘very concerned’ about climate change.”
Hopefully we can make that >90% a.s.a.p., about cooling and not warming of course.
“Minister of Climate Change.”
So its not “The Department of Silly Talks”, then?
“If the government gives you money, will you take it?”
Hell, yes. I regard it as payback for the “windmill tax” which inflates my ‘leccy bill.
Just when you thought it couldn’t possibly get any worse…
http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2010/06/economic-sabotage.html
And politicians and their lackeys wonder why we despise them so much.
[snip]
[snip]
SORRY for the word dumb A** now I feel bad.
I have a conscience unlike Gore
Just like old Labour before it, the new Condem government has to do as its told. We need to rid ourselves of the ruling elite before sensible policies can by adopted – in the mean time the shamocracies of the western political system will continue to stumble on.
The new religion of ‘Science’ is proving difficult to sell to the public, despite the miracles of technology we’ve seen over the last few decades. Good to see Britannia is just as sceptical about this as they are about the old religions.
Al Gored says: June 18, 2010 at 12:26 am,
UPDATE:
OK, Ms McGettigan got back to me and sent me two docs. One seems to be just a repeat of the press release, while the other says “FULL REPORT”, but seems to be a post-processed thing as well. Haven’t gone through it yet. Make of it what you will here:
LEAF Factor Press ReleaseFINAL
The LEAF Factor 2010 – FINAL FULL REPORT
The countries they list are:
Sweden
Italy
Netherlands
Turkey
Switzerland
France
UK
Germany
Spain
Russia
In answer to my above question: some of those countries are comparable to the UK I guess.
“A little more than half of Britons are ‘quite’ or ‘very concerned’ about climate change.”
Don’t ya just love the way they combine two different results, to give the illusion of a majority.
Hmmm… Where did they learn that trick, I wonder.
Translation —> “The brainwashing will continue until morale improves.”