From the University of British Columbia , and the “weather is not climate, except when we say it is” department comes the reason why alarmists are trying to make people fear “extreme weather” events – it helps their cause. Paid political operative Brad Johnson of “forecast the facts” has long been big on this line of propaganda, as has his buddy, Joe Romm of Climate Progress, and Bill McKibben of 350.org. But Dr. James Hansen of NASA GISS was the original practitioner of the concept, when he and his sponsor increased the temperature in the Senate hearing room in June 1988 for the effect it brought.
Blowing hot and cold: US belief in climate change shifts with weather
A University of British Columbia study of American attitudes toward climate change finds that local weather – temperature, in particular – is a major influence on public and media opinions on the reality of global warming.
The study, published today by the journal Climatic Change, finds a strong connection between U.S. weather trends and public and media attitudes towards climate science over the past 20 years – with skepticism about global warming increasing during cold snaps and concern about climate change growing during hot spells.
“Our findings help to explain some of the significant fluctuations and inconsistencies in U.S. public opinion on climate change,” says UBC Geography Prof. Simon Donner who conducted the study with former student Jeremy McDaniels (now at Oxford University).
The researchers used 1990-2010 data from U.S. public opinion polls and media coverage by major U.S. newspapers, including The New York Times, Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today. They evaluated the relationship between average national temperatures and opinion polls on climate change, along with the quantity and nature of media editorials and opinion pieces related to climate change.
While many factors affect climate change attitudes – political views, media coverage, personal experience and values – the researchers suggest that headline-making weather can strongly influence climate beliefs, especially for individuals without strong convictions for or against climate change.
“Our study demonstrates just how much local weather can influence people’s opinions on global warming,” says Donner. “We find that, unfortunately, a cold winter is enough to make some people, including many newspaper editors and opinion leaders, doubt the overwhelming scientific consensus on the issue.”
What, no mention of how hot summers work in the opposite direction?
Jus a min here…
“with skepticism about global warming increasing during cold snaps and concern about climate change growing during hot spells.”
Isn’t that slightly more rational than believing that every perceived extreme of weather is evidence of global warming?
(Whoever wrote that sentence uses mixed terms: “global warming” versus ”climate change” (instead of “global cooling”). While the latter may be favoured by alarmists now, my impression is they still talk warming the details.
Yup. That’s why CO2 levels have continued their (slightly) exponential rise, and there’s been no warming for a decade or two. And there was equal warming before CO2, much less Man’s contribution, began rising. Makes consensual sense. Not.