Climate bigger threat than terrorism: poll (1)
OTTAWA — Canadians believe climate change poses a significantly bigger threat to the “vital interests” of this country over the next decade than international terrorism, a new poll suggests.
While nearly half of those surveyed said climate change is a “critical threat,” only about one in four people said the same about international terrorism. A similar poll conducted in 2004 showed Canadians believed the two threats were about equal.
The results come from a survey commissioned by the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute and conducted by the Innovative Research Group, Inc. between Dec. 22, 2009, and Jan. 4, 2010.
Canadians were asked about their “threat perceptions” on a number of issues. While fears about climate change remained relatively stable, falling 3% from 52% in 2004 to 49% in 2010, international terrorism tumbled from 49% in 2004 to 28% in 2010.
[More]
Related:
30 Years of Global Cooling Are Coming, Leading Scientist Says
Popularity: 4% [?]
Male, retired and the rest is of little interest to anyone. The site keeps me busy and if it helps others to stay abreast of daily events then my time is well spent.
MaryT Says:
I think all the crap spread by goreacles is terrorism.
Posted on January 11th, 2010 at 2:57 pm
beentheredonethat Says:
We’ve all heard of a ship of fools, but a nation of fools?
Posted on January 11th, 2010 at 3:55 pm
nomdeblog Says:
It depends on interpretation of the question. The big problem is that in neither case can we name the enemy.
Climate: Is it global warming or a mini-ice age?
Terrorism: Is it “isolated extremists” or Muslim victims (the Butt Bomber and the Fort Hood psychiatrist) of too much Western University education or Islamofascism?
If asked by the survey, I would agree that climatstrology is more dangerous because bin Layton and bin Duceppe of the radical fringe are terrorizing Parliament with their insane views of how Canada should “control” the climate. Whereas bin Laden is probably dead.
Posted on January 11th, 2010 at 5:23 pm
stageleft Says:
Yeah… the polling companies probably should try harder to avoid randomly calling the elite set and try and determine if they’re talking to ordinary Canadians instead ‘eh?
Posted on January 11th, 2010 at 5:38 pm
ward Says:
Interestingly on the same day we have the very same narrative from another source in the USA.
http://hotair.com/archives/2010/01/11/tsa-nominee-global-warming-deserves-parity-with-war-on-terror/
Posted on January 11th, 2010 at 5:44 pm
John Luft Says:
The poll is useless. It is absolutely NOT representative of the Canadian population as a whole. Even the method itself (i.e., the email/internet connection) ensures bias.
Posted on January 11th, 2010 at 6:11 pm
stageleft Says:
Exactly John, everybody knows ordinary Canadians, with ordinary Canadian values, and ordinary Canadians concerns, don’t have Internet connections or use email.
Posted on January 11th, 2010 at 6:34 pm
Glen from Saskatoon Says:
The pollsters must have questioned all the pathetic, quivering, terminally timid blobs of protoplasm who feel safer due to the latest measures the government is taking on airport security…
Posted on January 11th, 2010 at 7:28 pm
jema54 Says:
The comments are quite illuminating – as are the one’s here. The msm cover up of Climategate was effective for a little while but the cracks are opening and a different flood is about to drown the ‘spinners’ in the msm. Nobody believes anything the goofies say – even if they want to believe. The dye is cast.
Posted on January 12th, 2010 at 1:36 am
John Luft Says:
stageleft says (rather arrogantly) ”
“Exactly John, everybody knows ordinary Canadians, with ordinary Canadian values, and ordinary Canadians concerns, don’t have Internet connections or use email.”
Pretty clear that you are an urbanite who knows almost nothing about internet service and computer connection times in rural areas. Pretty clear that you aren’t able to understand that many of the elderly (who do tend to vote at pretty high percentages) do not use computers an awful lot. Also, pretty clearly you don’t have the mental capacity to understand that email addresses are (at least for those with any brains) pretty much private and are not broadcast widely to avoid receiving junk mail and Nigerian bank scam emails.
I wouldn’t expect someone with a name like stageleft to understand statistics or random selection. Thanks for once again proving it. Just to be clear….the poll is valueless because the selection absolutely ensures bias.
Posted on January 12th, 2010 at 10:12 am
stageleft Says:
Well John, it’s pretty clear that you’ve made so really poor assumptions about me – don’t feel bad, it’s not the first time that sort of thing has happened.
Prior to moving to Ottawa I was the systems administrator for a small rural and remote ISP, and upon moving to Ottawa the first consulting job I had dealt with Internet delivery to rural and remote areas as a direct result of that relevant experience - so John, I know more than the average guy about the challenges and trials of Internet access and operating an ISP in rural and remote areas. I am also quite aware of what the rural and remote penetration rates (two years ago — ancient times in terms of the Internet — they were at 65% and climbing -vs- 76% urban penetration) and demographics are – social network growth rates (for example) are currently highest among older users with the 55 and older user age group reported to have grown by 514% in 2009. Facebook…. you know, that place where the No Prorogue group is growing like mad among the “elites” — is another good example where the demographics are shifting to the over 50 set. So generally I would say that your particular comments on that subject are — shall we say — what used to be as opposed to what is.
I’m not gonna take offense at your insults, your biased assumptions about me based on your lack of current knowledge about the state of rural and remote Internet penetration or general Internet demographics John, they are fairly typical of folks like yourself and generally bounce right off me – but they prove something, both to me, and the rest of those reading don’t they?
Posted on January 12th, 2010 at 11:47 am
jt Says:
Ivory tower Stage. You’re just blowing your horn here. Who cares about your accomplishments, you seem more blowhardish when doing so. Besides, you seem quite prepared to make “biased” assumptions of anyone who posts contrary to you. You come across as a “credentialed” science is settled propagandist. On the science front, despite what you want to believe, science is not settled on a consensual basis, nor are wars of any sort.
What this survey seeks to do is browse the feelings of selected ISP living people and attempt to sway public perceptions on certain subjects, or reinforce them. Personally, these answers show that most of these people selected (and I could interject that they were “selected” carefully as per the expected response – a real scientific poll LOL) have never attained a critical thinking stage in their lives. They still believe what their media tells them to believe and the media reinforces that perception.
Posted on January 12th, 2010 at 12:15 pm
John Luft Says:
stageleft….the simple fact is that the selection of respondents is NOT random. Your alleged knowledge of IT systems is not all that important. The fact is that on line polls (especially those that connect to people who have provided their email addresses) are not the least bit valid for the simple reason that they do not randomly select people. People SELF-SELECT by providing their email address. And your blather about “penetration rates” misses the point (as usual)…..Searching for information on the internet is not the same as doing polls. Any statistician worth their salt will pretty much laugh at your logic.
By the way…your arrogance pretty much tells me that I pegged you right from the start.
The poll is completely meaningless.
Posted on January 12th, 2010 at 12:45 pm
stageleft Says:
@jt: I noted my qualifications to show John that his assumption of me being an “urbanite who knows almost nothing about internet service and computer connection times in rural areas” was utterly incorrect – it’s something that speaks directly to his point don’t you think?
Contrary to your assertion the article states that the “online survey was conducted among current members of Innovative’s Canada 20/20 panel, recruited from a wide variety of sources that represent Canadians by age, sex, region and language” – it is your opinion that they were carefully selected to attain a desired outcome, but that’s not backed up by anything but your other opinions is it?
Posted on January 12th, 2010 at 4:42 pm
stageleft Says:
@John: People “self-select” to take part in polls. They do not, as far as I know, “self-select” to take part in specific polls where they know the questions before hand – so what is your point…. other than that you don’t agree with the results?
There was no arrogance in my comment, there was some snark directed towards you for thinking you know anything about me to be sure, but that’s it – me thinks you might be projecting.
Posted on January 12th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
Jack Says:
Re: #12 — “Ivory tower Stage. You’re just blowing your horn here.”
Not at all. SL has a different point of view because of where he came from and how he was raised. I don’t always agree with him but I hear him (like Cynapse). His comments are always welcome here because we get the “other side of the story”.
It causes us to think and that is not a bad thing.
Posted on January 12th, 2010 at 4:51 pm
stageleft Says:
@Jack: I was raised in a drafty old farm house by conservative (and Conservative) Baptist (of the good old fashioned spare the rod and spoil the child variety) parents on a small (300 acre) mixed farm (some dairy, some grain, some woodlot, and big family gardens) owned by my conservative (and Conservative) grandfather in New Brunswick very close to the American border (which was good because at the time the drinking age was lower on the other side than it was in Canada) where we got one fuzzy channel on TV. I went to small rural schools (grade 1 was actually in a one room school with six rows and six grades) until I was old enough to be bussed to the big town (population 650 at the time) down the road, we didn’t have a flush toilet until I was 15, and I didn’t have my own bedroom until the day I left home – when I did leave I went by plane, the first of my family to ever get on one (they were all quite excited about it as I recall)… yup, that explains it
– I guess maybe it also dates me a bit to ‘eh… oh well, it had to come out sometime.
I say that in a joking manner Jack, but it’s all not only very rural, very ordinary, and very mundane (for the times and the place anyway), it’s also all very true. My thoughts and ideas on politics and how any number of things do, or should, work have little to do with where I was raised or my upbringing, and everything to do with what I saw when I got out into the world on my own.
PS: Thanks for the compliment, I enjoy having my thoughts and ideas challenged here – there are darned few political sites where regular dissent doesn’t often result in being run off the property and I’m happy to have found yours.
Posted on January 12th, 2010 at 5:54 pm
Jack Says:
You’re welcome SL. If I shared my upbringing people would have a heart attack. Not that it was wrong but little kids jumping on the cowcatcher of a 6000 locomotive steaming out of the local yard to catch a ride?
There was a time when things were very different and the local CN cop went nuts. Not that it bothered me but Dad was somewhat upset when he heard about it.
The point is that the “net” is changing things as people cancel their subscriptions and tune in to sites like ours. It’s all good stuff and we need to keep it going.
Posted on January 12th, 2010 at 6:17 pm
Cynapse Says:
Not at all. SL has a different point of view because of where he came from and how he was raised. I don’t always agree with him but I hear him (like Cynapse). His comments are always welcome here because we get the “other side of the story”.
It causes us to think and that is not a bad thing.
And that is ultimately what sets JNW apart from the predictable echo chambers that are most political blogs.
Posted on January 12th, 2010 at 7:13 pm