“Importantly, even as global warming has received greater attention from politicians and the media in recent years, Americans' worry is no higher now than when Gallup first asked about it in 1989”. The category of ‘how much do you personally worry a great deal’ is down to 32%.
The most expensive public relations campaign in western civilized history, (mostly public tax dollars), in the last 25 years has failed to gain many believers but the political alarmism crusade is being $$ cranked up ever higher. The latest big push is to get an agreement at the Paris Conference Dec. 2015.
The global warming / climate change threat agenda has traditionally been politicized, Liberal/NDP/Green Leftists on the pro side with Conservatives being more skeptical.
Many opportunists have profited at the expense of a heavy additional burden on taxpayers for all government departments, public schools, universities, subsidized grants to no end of studies, enormous media advertising, corporate friends reliant subsidies, environmental groups, political agendas etc.
Hyped up climate fears and enviro threats are used by politicians to justify increasing gov’t revenue like carbon taxes. Recently, Washington State’s Gov. Jay Inslee is trying to implement a carbon tax (or cap/trade) to raise $12.2 billion to fund a transportation plan.
As they ratchet up the sensationalism, we appear to becoming blasé and weary of the constant threat of catastrophic disasters. The oceans didn’t rise like Al Gore promised. CO
2 increased but the mean earth surface temperature didn’t, like they said it would.
The movement started off fairly civilized but now it’s getting downright nasty, name-calling, ugly shut-down attacks on the skeptics attempting to destroy those scientists careers etc. The warmists have declared the debate to be over, but without conversation how would they attract more believers?
How effective a winner can the global warming environmental movement be to the Left if after a 25-year campaign of expensive intensive political and cultural pressure, they have failed to win over the public?
More seem reluctant to latch on to a hypothesis that would risk harming the economy, their livelihood and social programs?
It appears the vast majority consider our ability to adapt to the warming trend we have been under since the last Ice Age preferable to the uncertain cost of an ideological cure that may be worse than the disease.
Roland Seguin
Langley, BC
