Saturday, 5 November 2022
It's how we are governed
Philip Patrick has an interesting TCW piece on global shifts in climate scepticism.
At last, sceptics are shunning the climate scaremongers
A HUGE international survey measuring public concern about the threat of climate change appears to indicate growing scepticism across the globe.
The Gallup Risk Poll, which questioned 125,000 people in 121 countries, reported that less than half of those surveyed saw anthropogenic climate change as a very serious threat. There is now, it appears, a consensus of sceptics.
The most sceptical countries in the survey were China, where only 20 per cent view climate change as a clear and present danger, the Middle East and North Africa (27 per cent) and South East Asia (39 per cent). At the other end of the spectrum was the US, where ‘climate change awareness’ has grown, albeit slightly, since the survey was last undertaken.
Interesting in that it reinforces something we already know - the effectiveness of climate change propaganda is regional rather than global.
And Professor Neil Ferguson may have done climate sceptics a huge favour by permanently discrediting the use of computer-based modelling informing government policy, as exemplified by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Seems unlikely to me. Too many people are not natural sceptics and are not inclined to spend significant amounts of time checking and testing the basis of their assumptions.
If one good thing ever comes out of the last two and a half years, it is a return of healthy scepticism in the face of a relentless monotonous government/media barrage pushing one narrative and brooking no dissent. This survey appears to show evidence of such a renaissance. Some would say it’s not before time.
This outcome, though desirable, also seems unlikely. Narratives of doom are intended to be plausible and manipulative, not true. They are more likely to morph into other, equally plausible, equally manipulative narratives. It's how we are governed.
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4 comments:
Thanks, that's a nice article and I spent some time fossicking around in the stats on the link. Good to see some positive changes in the UK, and my guess is that the over-riding factor for the next survey will be a combination of winter weather and high fuel prices. It's very easy to burble on about a climate crisis if it's a warm summer evening and your allotment is doing well. I think they should have asked another critical question under the heading:
"How worried do you feel that the following could cause you serious harm?"
It would be "How worried are you that affluent middle class people will make you apoplectic due to their incessant drivelling on about climate change?"
Sam - I agree, and in the UK there does seem to be a note of official panic induced by high fuel prices and the approach of winter weather. Even a moderately severe winter could change a few minds.
Hmmm. I'm not given to wishful thinking, so although the conclusions of the article would be nice, I'm not holding my breath just yet. My partner and I are polled using e-mail by IPSOS-MORI (presumably chosen at random), and the last poll we did was about climate change, net zero and measures that the gov were to take. I call it the strongly oppose poll, (I would have loved Sam's option to tick). Still, I've done my bit for the sceptic and to hell with politicians cause!
Tammly - I think the emphasis may change to another form of doom if public opinion changes significantly, but it will still be our fault and in any event the damage is already done.
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