x
  • Bookmark and ShareShare
  • Earn Points
    What's this?
A tale of two climate polls, part 2
Two new studies on how Americans perceive climate change is a testament to public confusion and an urgent call for better messaging from the scientific community. New poll by Fred Luntz.
Sat, Feb 06 2010 at 5:14 PM
 8

Image: News Corp. & The Word Doctors, 2010

OK, what’s going on? We have a fairly progressive institution, Yale University, telling us that only 57 percent of the population thinks climate change is real. And then we have a Fox News pollster (Frank Luntz) telling us the opposite is true — 82 percent of the population think it’s a real or at least a potential threat (PDF).
 
It seems to go against basic logic. Shouldn’t the Fox News poll be pumping dissent about how few Americans believe in climate change?
 
Absolutely not. Follow my logic for a minute. What if you knew a piece of evidence was about to be revealed to the public that was so real, so unassailable and so undeniable that it proved once and for all that climate change is REAL?
 
Well, if you were an environmentalist, you would celebrate. Finally we could get some good legislation that curtails the worst polluters and gives money to homeowners to put up solar panels and buy efficient appliances.
 
But what if you were an ultra-conservative politician, a dirty coal company, or a free-market provocateur, what would you do?
 
Well, you would quickly retool your strategy and aim for the lesser of two “evils” (in this case “ two goods”) and that would be cap & trade. The alternative, a carbon tax, is the worst nightmare for oil and coal companies because it would mean a direct hit to their bottom line.
 
Cap & trade on the other hand is a mechanism that could (at best) ease them into a transition to cleaner fuels and (at worst) be manipulated through the same derivative markets that enabled companies like AIG to waltz away with billions in taxpayer bailout dollars.
 
Frank Luntz. (Photo: NCPA/Flickr)
 
Frank Luntz, aka the “Word Doctor” has, it appears, been hired to test how to make the words “cap & trade” palatable to the American people.
Out of 25 questions in the poll, 12 were about the framing of “cap & trade.” Not a single question explored the carbon tax.
 
James Hansen and other notable scientists have publicly come out against cap-and-trade as a regulatory framework for the simple reason that it is too easy for Wall Street bankers to game the system on behalf of their wealthy corporate clients. Maybe 20 years ago it would have been a good experiment. But given the urgency of our current climate crisis, we don’t have time for rich men to play God with another artificial market while our childrens’ future slowly, quietly melts away into oblivion.
 
So mark my words ... it may not be in 2010 or even 2011, but as the heap of evidence on climate change grows, the Right will be forced to abandon its fictitious "climate hoax" strategy and shift towards a pro cap-and-trade agenda. 

The opinions expressed by MNN Bloggers and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of MNN.com. While we have reviewed their content to make sure it complies with our Terms and Conditions, MNN is not responsible for the accuracy of any of their information.

You might also like:

Join the conversation

Comments: 8
Sign in with one of these accounts to add your comment.
anonymous
Enter your name May 30 2012 at 5:32 PM
As a farmer I LOVE CO2!!! As a business person I LOVE cheap energy. As a humanitarian I want to see the United Nations and the eugenic/globall warmists defeated before the kill more children. Friday Mukamperezida blood is on YOUR hands! YES YOU! Millions starved and there were food riots in more that 30 countries while Goldman Sachs, Cargill, ADM and Monsanto reaped record breaking profits in blood money from the biofuel scam that YOU promote. Even US universities are in on the Africa 'land
.... More
grab'. Harvard and Vanderbilt are use hedge funds to buy land. All you had to do is look at Robert Watson who works for the World Bank and ran the IPCC and is now heading the World Bank "Sustainability" drive to see the Money Trail. Heck CRU is funded by BP oil and Shell! Bye the Bye is it the banksters or the Oil cartel that funds YOU?
|
anonymous
Alexander Feb 08 2010 at 8:48 AM
There's no confusion but in the author's head. The first poll asks people about anthropogenic global warming. The second poll asks people about climate change. Now, it may come as a surprise for a hardcore warmist, but for normal thinking people, "climate change" is not the same as "anthropogenic global warming". And most people skeptical of the AGW theory totally agree that climate change is happening and always was. Only brain-dead green zealots claim that disbelief in AGW equals to disbelief of
.... More
climate change. Author seems to belong to this wacko group. Well, it's his choice, but you see, science doesn't stay on the place and doesn't care about some stupid media-induced consensus.
|
anonymous
Shaun Hughes Feb 07 2010 at 6:25 AM
Bear with me. Channel 4 is a national television station (not cable) in the UK. In November 2009 the flew a crew to Brazil to report on climate change. Their footprint was 100 tonnes. To offset that, they bought 100 tonnes of CO2 credits from St Thomas' s Hospital (government funded). The hospital claim that they will use the money to buy energy saving lightbulbs. All good so far - except the hospital already has a budget for lightbulbs. Surely when a bulb expired they would replace it with an
.... More
energy saving one anyway. C4 gave the hospital £1300 they didn't need and 100 tonnes was pumped into the air anyway BUT the government was £1300 better off. Not the most convincing argumnet.
|
anonymous
Alan Feb 07 2010 at 4:03 AM
I've never been to america, and considering how crazy it is I'm not sure it exists, well it could I guess but show me some proof first and not some doctored photo's by the america exists conspiracy theorists, because anything you show me is just a lie, same goes for the earth is round farce, the flat earth society showed me the light, I want to go their first before I'll believe such a place exists. Similary like the bunch of frieghtend lazy monkeys that you climate deniers are, (oh by the way
.... More
I dont believe in creationisim for real) you wont be happy even when we get to armagedon or a sad dilapadated sick empty world or when your children refer to you with the same contempt baby boomers now get for squandering any inhertance their parents left for them. Your not happy even as individuals I guess you just keep screaming as loud as you can, your nothing but a pack of simian losers that will not be looked back on kindly, just like the morons who denied the hole in the ozone layer. Wait that was a conspiracy too, if your so rightous go drink out of your cities main river system I challenge you not to get sick seeing as pollution must be a farce too.
|
anonymous
Paul Clark Feb 06 2010 at 11:52 PM
Article: "...proved once and for all that climate change is REAL? Well if you were an environmentalist you would celebrate." Very revealing. It shows that: 1) You admit that there is currently no absolute proof. 2) Environmentalists would celebrate knowing that their unsubstantiated, ideologically motivated theories about capitalists were right all along - you just needed that missing scientific proof to fit the existing theory. 3) Environmentalists would celebrate massive environmental destruction
.... More
and death if it meant finally getting rid of the free market and capitalism. Article: "Maybe 20 years ago [cap and trade] would have been a good experiment." The EU has had it for five years and it didn't do anything to reduce emissions but did result in a lot of corruption and shady profiteering. Your use of the phrase climate change as though climate change itself proves that it is human made; I have news for you: the climate has changed quite independently of humans for 4.6 billion years, so, there, I just proved you right! Climate change does exist! It's just not human made. Article: "power up their homes using clean, Made-in-America energy" Ahh, I take it you are a full supporter of nuclear power for America then?
|
anonymous
Schiller Thurkettle Feb 06 2010 at 7:42 PM

I don't get it. "World's worst polluters"? It's CO2.

"Climate crisis"? As in, "Not as good as in the Medieval Optimum"?

Why should "the Right" embrace cap & trade when it's bad business for everyone -- except for the Enronesque carbon traders?

This article makes no sense at all.

|
anonymous
D Bonson Feb 06 2010 at 6:49 PM

The IPCC house of card now lies in ruins while the emperors of global warming hysteria are called out for not wearing any clothes.

BTW, nice pic of a polar bear in the chart. Is it one from the 17 (of 19) distinct Arctic polar bear populations that are stable or increasing in numbers?

|
anonymous
Camreon Feb 06 2010 at 6:11 PM

As the entire world is now realizing the climate scare is over. But we still got you "progressives" to keep us entertained. The jig is up, the larges scientific scandal since Piltdown man has been exposed a hoax. But hey, don't let that stop you spewing your ignorant gibberish to the masses. LOL Good luck with that.

|

EDITORS' PICKS

tease kids in woods

line

tease stargazing

line

tease hand

Earn 100 points for signing up for a free iMeet trial now.
JOIN NOW
Advertisement
From our sponsor

NEWSLETTER

Mother Nature. Delivered
Advertisement