New polling data on global warming ...

It’s disheartening 7

... can be found here (hat tip to pollster.com).

Here's the important result:

American voters tend to see Global Warming as a serious problem but are divided as to whether it's caused by human activities or long-term planetary trends.

This is important because:

As with most issues, the understanding of why something is happening has a huge impact on perceptions about the issue. Among those who believe human activity is the primary cause of Global Warming, 71% consider it a Very Important issue. Among those who believe long-term planetary trends are causing the warming, just 17% rate the issue Very Important.

The scientific community is quite united on the fact that humans are contributing to climate change. So why does this public misunderstanding exist? Because the public has been subjected to a concerted and ongoing disinformation campaign over the past twenty years. And it's still going on. Sen. James Inhofe's recent hearings were a great example of the tactics used to discredit both science and the media that honestly reports it.

I've referred to this as the the uncertainty agenda. Sophisticated advocates know that by sowing uncertainty, they can essentially draw the debate into gridlock -- in which case the status quo of inaction wins.

This holiday season, go out there and strike a blow against Inhofe-ism: talk to a friend, neighbor, co-worker, etc. about the reality and dangers of climate change.

Andrew Dessler is an associate professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at Texas A&M University; his research focuses on the physics of climate change, climate feedbacks in particular.

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  1. David Roberts's avatar

    David Roberts Posted 7:06 am
    19 Dec 2006

    And to refute this particular talking point,

    readers need only scroll down a bit.

    www.grist.org

    Permalink

  2. CyberBrook Posted 7:32 am
    19 Dec 2006

    Meat is a Major Global Warming Issue

    Meat is a Major Global Warming Issue

    Another Inconvenient Truth
    http://www.eatkind.net/inconvenient.htm

    EarthSave:...

    Another Inconvenient Truth: Meat is a Global Warming Issue
    http://www.emagazine.com/view/?3312

    Another Inconv...

    UN: Which causes more greenhouse gas emissions, rearing cattle or driving cars?
    http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000448/index.ht...

    Livestock's Role in Climate Change and Air Pollution (ch. 3)
    http://virtualcentre.org/en/library/key_pub/longshad/A070...

    Cow `emissions' more damaging to planet than CO2 from cars
    http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/global_warm_c02.htm

    Diet, Energy and Global Warming
    http://geosci.uchicago.edu/~gidon/papers/nutri/nutri.html...

    ABC News: Meat-Eaters Aiding Global Warming?
    http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/TenWays/story?id=2119267...

    Greenpeace: On Your Plate
    http://greenpeace.org/usa/news/green-living-guide/on-your...

    Fight Global Warming by Going Vegetarian
    http://goveg.com/environment-globalwarming.asp

    Veg...

    The SUV in the Pantry
    http://www.organicconsumers.org/btc/gasfood112105.cfm...

    Five Food Choices for a Healthy Planet
    http://www.veg.ca/issues/enviro-5reasons.html

    Eco...

    Eco-Eating: Eating as if the Earth Matters http://www.brook.com/veg

    Permalink

  3. Jason D Scorse's avatar

    Jason D Scorse Posted 2:28 am
    20 Dec 2006

    Hmmm....

    seems like changing one's diet may do more to decrease CO2 emissions than buying that energy-intensive Prius whose life-cycle analysis isn't so much better than an SUV- but that would be radical wouldn't it?

    J.S.

    J.S. teaches environmental economics and blogs at www.voicesofreason.info.

    Permalink

  4. ffletcher Posted 2:57 am
    20 Dec 2006

    Big Macs and Whoppers

    The greenhouse gas footprint of fast food burgers may be considerably larger than just the grills, refrigeration, and facilities.  Wonder what the greenhouse footprint is for a pound of hamburger. If the above information is correct I suspect it is over a hundred pounds.

    Permalink

  5. Biodiversivist's avatar

    Biodiversivist Posted 5:32 am
    20 Dec 2006

    Jason, three things

    1. The best life cycle analysis I could find (Toyota's--which admittedly has to be biased) shows the Prius reduces CO2 by about a third over a Corolla. Imagine how that would compare to a Hummer. Here is an article pointing out some flaws in the study you didn't give a link to. The Prius is no magic bullet, but it is clearly a radical move in a positive direction. The Prius is enjoying unprecedented success as a high status car. That will eventually end and hopefully will be replaced by products that are even more environmentally benign, as each consumer strives to one up their neighbor (at a subconcious level of course).

    2. Striving to eat less meat in one's diet is analogous to eating less food in general. Both consume more energy than necessary. Obesity is growing all around the world as a result of poverty reduction. In any case, I would not call "eating less" any more radical than "eating less meat." Harping at people to eat less and exercise more would be just as effective as harping at them to eat less meat (not very). We should know by now that asking people to sacrifice does not work. In fact, it tends to be counterproductive. Good luck convincing billions of people to sit in a 55 deg house, go childless, walk to work, forgo a source of food that has been a critical part of the diet in our omnivore genetic lineage for hundreds of thousands of years.

    3. Got any math to back up your suspicion that you could produce less CO2 by changing your diet than by driving a Prius? It is a moot point in my opinion because proposed solutions must be implementable. Human nature prods people to want to drive a car that others envy. The Prius is making huge reductions in CO2 on a life cycle basis, the calls for dietary sacrifice over the last thirty years, zip. Veganism is about as appealing to the masses as riding an electric bike. Both are nice personal choices, but neither hold any potential for significant change because neither will be embraced in large numbers.

    In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world

    Permalink

  6. GreenEngineer Posted 5:38 am
    20 Dec 2006

    Meat and CO2

    I am perfectly willing to believe that a diet of fast-food burgers puts more carbon in the air than commuting in an SUV (or, at least, more than the difference between commuting in an SUV and doing the same in a Prius).

    However, having said that, posts like CyberBrook's miss several important points:

    • The big CO2 number attached to meat (particularly beef) includes impacts from feeding, processing, and transportation
    • thus, local meat has a much lower CO2 footprint
    • grassfed beef likewise has a lower CO2 footprint
    • backyard meat (chickens, rabbits, etc) eliminates 95% of all the carbon sources associated with meat production
    • no meaningful comparison has been made (as far as I have seen) between the carbon impacts of a meat diet and the carbon impacts of a conventionally-grown vegetarian diet

    I think the point that we should be focusing on, whether we're concerned about global warming or animal welfare, is the destructive nature of the conventional industrial food system.  The problem is not the meat, per se.  It's the way it is made.  And the solution is not to go vegetarian, it's to change our food production system.  (Although going meat-light, and carefully sourcing your replacement protein, is a good idea.)

    Note that I'm not trying to pick on CyberBrook in particular, here.  I've seen this same broad-brush thinking expressed by lots of people.  It's a problem.  Things are not that simple.

    Permalink

  7. EliRabett Posted 1:45 pm
    02 Jan 2007

    For why this is important

    See the Richard Clarke article in the Washington Post.

    Permalink

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