Saturday, February 03, 2007

Huh?

It's just an online poll, but these numbers baffle me:

A major international report officially released Friday says global warming is real and "very likely" caused by human activities. Do you agree that human activities are to blame?

Yes, human activity is to blame.
(51%) 65417 votes
Global warming is real, but human activity is only part of the problem.
(10%) 12594 votes
Global warming is real, but humans are not to blame. It's part of Earth's natural cycle.
(38%) 48898 votes
I don't believe that global warming is occurring.
(1%) 1713 votes

Maybe the wingnuts are flooding the poll, but a full 38% think global warming is a "natural cycle". How is that possible, despite all the evidence, that people cling to this notion? It makes me wonder if people are really getting accurate information from the media. The real danger, Harper can carry on his pedestrian course and still find a constituent that could well keep him in power. This unscientific poll might serve as possible explanation for why this government seems so "out of step". Harper doesn't need majority support, with the divison on the center-left, he only needs the sceptics to get re-elected. Polls like the above could be quite telling, as too strategy and posture.

6 comments:

Oxford County Liberals said...

Online polls are notorious for getting "freeped". I wouldnt put too much stock into this report.

Steve V said...

I'm not really Scott, but it is striking.

canuckistanian said...

remember macleans' online poll that showed 90% favoured ignatieff??? these polls are good insofar as they show how insecure people are, and thus try to gin-up the results in their favour.

Anonymous said...

As someone who semi-frequently hijacks online polls to suit my ends, I would say this one means about as much as asking my 3-year old nephew what he thinks of global climate change.

Save your brain some pain and forget about it.

Anonymous said...

Online polls are a lot like much of today's 'climate science' - they leave a lot to be desired because neither is accurate.

Monkey Loves to Fight said...

Online polls are too often hijacked. Besides while natural cycles in climate do indeed occur, the rate of change is way too fast to be considered part of the natural cycle. 10 years ago this argument might have still had some merit when the science was still in its early stage, but today I think it is about is conclusive as it can get in science.

Still I do think global warming is occurring naturally, but at a far slower pace than if humans weren't contributing. What would take 500 years naturally to happen, will happen in 100 years instead. This means nature will have a much tougher time adjusting to the changes then if they happened more gradually