It is rather ironic that, following a weekend when it has really been too hot to blog and the nation swarms to the seaside, we see in The Guardian news of a poll recording a major decline in concern over climate change.No one with their finger on the pulse needed a survey to tell them that - the heat, so to speak, went out of the issue some time ago.

View full article here

Yes, you would think that global economic meltdown would be universally acknowledged as the most pressing problem at the moment. Unless, of course, you are the UN's new climate chief, Christiana Figueres. I heard her being interviewed on the BBC World Service. Quite bonkers. She said climate change is now "at the top of every political agenda in every country".

The interview can be heard here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p007m8w0

The rest of the programme also had a strangely desperate feel to it, as if the Beeb know the AGW game is up.

"After the hype over Copenhagen, "Climategate" and related issues, followed by the freezing winter, the Armageddon scenarios no longer have the same traction. The "shock-horror" has lost its power to shock, and is simply another issue queuing for attention."

-R North, 2010

"Global warming has lost its standing as a celebrity social problem and is now an ordinary routinized problem that receives intermittent media attention that is often as negative as positive. The issue will not regain its celebrity standing in different public arenas simply through an intensification of claims-making by concerned activists. Another spike of attention will require novelty and drama."

-Sheldon Ungar, 1992

I never get tired of quoting this...;)

Reply with quoteRe: Fading away
by Dr Gitfinger » Mon May 24, 2010 12:48 am

Yes, you would think that global economic meltdown would be universally acknowledged as the most pressing problem at the moment. Unless, of course, you are the UN's new climate chief, Christiana Figueres


Yes that's why it's not on the agenda for the G8 or G20. Go Canada! the sensible country :^)

Reality, has a habit of intruding in fantasy.

Unfortunately our leaders and betters show no signs of losing interest in climate change. Without any discernable ideology, our current crop of politicians are desparate to find some legitimacy. Climte change gained political traction in the wake of the Thatcher government's campaign against the miners and the NUM, but soon provided the rationale for all sorts of politicians across the spectrum. I don't think it's completely fabricated, I think a lot of politicians really do believe that they are going to save humanity by tackling 'climate change'. And the only way they can do that is by taking ever more control of all facets of society.

Take away climate change and what do Cameron, Clegg, Brown, Obama et al have left to justify what they do? So while it's good news that more and more people can see through the hype and are becoming increasingly skeptical, I see no signs that this even impinges on the consciousness of our leaders.

Even the noted railway engineer Dr Pachauri now admits that non-academic research is needed to bolster the greenies' claims:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/enviro ... ature.html

Greens, biodiversity hmmm.

Would that mean retaining distinct breeding populations of white people in white countries and distinct breeding populations of non-whites in non-white countries by any chance?

I'm sure they have some very clever scientific arguments as to why that won't turn out to be the case.

How tedious...

Tedious? No. How apposite I think you mean.

No, tedious is what I meant...

I actually find it quite surprising (as well as depressing) that only 33 per cent question AGW.

Still, this is YouGov we're talking about and some of the polls of theirs that I have seen have asked some very strange questions in some very strange ways.

According to Ed West in the Telegraph, Chris Huhne has 7 houses.
How green is that?

"As Ferdinand Mount writes in Mind the Gap, his excellent study of class division, less than one per cent of households, mostly in the poorest areas, account for 42 per cent of all burglaries. I seriously doubt any of Chris Huhne’s seven homes are in that bracket, which might explain why he’s so in favour of reducing sentencing levels even more."

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/edwes ... uper-rich/