Comments
Public opinion on climate change - the public might be the problem
2009-11-02 11:37:23
It is one of the golden rules of democratic politics that you are never allowed to turn towards the public and tell them they are the problem. Like many golden rules, from time to time it deserves to be broken.
Because when you read a survey which states that only 15 per cent of British people worry about global warming and its potential impact on the world, you ask yourself 'do I really live in a country where, when people are asked if they worry about global warming and its potential impact on the world, more than eight out of ten say "No."'?
The figures for developing countries like Brazil, Mexico and India are much higher. Is that because they are more used to weather driven destruction? Or because they have not fallen victim to the 'not bovvered' syndrome which says instant gratification belongs to the individual and any long-term problem belongs to somebody else.
Of course politicians have to take a lead, and will be expected to come to a meaningful agreement at the Copenhagen Summit next month. But if they go with such low levels of interest and awareness back home - and the numbers have fallen from 26 per cent since the recession began, making Britain the 'least concerned' country of twelve surveyed for the Climate Confidence monitor - then their task becomes much harder.
Britain also topped the poll on the question as to whether they thought anything could be done. Almost half said no, against a global average of 38 per cent. 'Not bovvered' plus 'nothing can be done.' A lethal 'public opinion' combination. Meanwhile, Save the Children reckon climate change could take the lives of 250,000 kids next year, as a result of drought, floods, malaria, starvation caused by natural disasters leading to economic collapse. Not bovvered? Nothing to be done?
I wonder what a poll asking whether people really really cared who won X Factor would show? A lot more than 15 per cent I fancy.
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Stronger together - whether Scotland or expensesPublish date: 2009-05-22 10:22:36
Back to Number 10, familiar faces, familiar argumentsPublish date: 2009-05-21 10:14:34
Speaking up for ParliamentPublish date: 2009-05-20 11:44:17
Peace in the Middle East - yes he canPublish date: 2009-05-19 09:37:35
Breaking news - one frenzy at a timePublish date: 2009-05-18 10:34:30
Getting a good look at Vince CablePublish date: 2009-05-17 09:36:55
How do you solve a problem like Silvio?Publish date: 2009-05-16 09:32:21
It was the internet wot won itPublish date: 2009-05-15 10:04:57
There now follows ... a good whack at CameronPublish date: 2009-05-14 17:21:28
They got their kit off - so you get your cash outPublish date: 2009-05-14 07:41:11
Expenses row must not obscure Tory intentions on minimum wagePublish date: 2009-05-13 16:12:08
We love you Burnley, we do ... what a nightPublish date: 2009-05-13 02:37:17
A tweet cannot express the wonders of TGVPublish date: 2009-05-12 08:48:31
It's Mind week - Get it off your Chest with me and Stephen FryPublish date: 2009-05-11 06:29:15
Hate the Mail, love ObamaPublish date: 2009-05-10 10:04:00
Burnley 1 Reading 0 - a biased reportPublish date: 2009-05-09 21:26:32
MPs expenses - time for party leaders to meet againPublish date: 2009-05-09 09:50:19
Should happiness replace prosperity as national goal?Publish date: 2009-05-08 08:43:23
Musings from a sleepless nightPublish date: 2009-05-07 07:33:49
Darren Fletcher - an injustice that has to be rightedPublish date: 2009-05-06 09:52:29
Maggie's legacy not as great as she thinksPublish date: 2009-05-05 08:33:02
Here's hoping Cardiff is metaphor for CameronPublish date: 2009-05-04 09:38:30
More Mr Benn and Co pleasePublish date: 2009-05-03 10:03:00
Going Fourth with JPPublish date: 2009-05-02 18:25:41
Journalism - print first, think laterPublish date: 2009-05-02 09:10:01
In praise of two poetsPublish date: 2009-05-01 10:26:36
JP hits the road againPublish date: 2009-04-29 18:52:11
My night with Eddie IzzardPublish date: 2009-04-29 10:53:25
Explaining the 50p top tax ratePublish date: 2009-04-28 09:22:53
George Best and Martin McGuinnessPublish date: 2009-04-27 09:02:35
Cameron confused over indepdendence and impartialityPublish date: 2009-04-26 12:20:56
Guide ro Marathon running part 2Publish date: 2009-04-25 11:01:34
Good signals on coal and the OlympicsPublish date: 2009-04-24 10:45:28
Tips for the London MarathonPublish date: 2009-04-23 17:29:27
Missed the Budget, saw why it matteredPublish date: 2009-04-22 23:09:31
Football good, politics bad. AllegedlyPublish date: 2009-04-22 00:00:24
The Great Wall gets greaterPublish date: 2009-04-21 09:55:22
Two sides to police storyPublish date: 2009-04-20 11:39:54
Budgets, Balls, billionaires and Susan BoylePublish date: 2009-04-19 12:31:45
Do muscles have memories?Publish date: 2009-04-18 09:44:44
Bring back standing at footballPublish date: 2009-04-17 14:50:22
When Facebook friends fall outPublish date: 2009-04-16 12:29:16
Guardian sightings and the email and bath plug agendaPublish date: 2009-04-15 11:32:16
The spin is all in the prismPublish date: 2009-04-14 09:22:41
A setback, not a crisisPublish date: 2009-04-13 12:55:19
The real lessons from Damian McBridePublish date: 2009-04-12 10:49:47
Will English always be the dominant language?Publish date: 2009-04-11 10:02:02
On the pipes and what makes a ScotPublish date: 2009-04-10 11:06:20
John Prescott lazy? NO WAYPublish date: 2009-04-09 09:11:31
David Frost is seventyPublish date: 2009-04-08 08:48:38
The Speaker, BBC2, tonight and tomorrow 8pmPublish date: 2009-04-07 14:25:31
Obama, colds and being woken by Korean missilesPublish date: 2009-04-06 11:59:24
When a call matters more than protocolPublish date: 2009-04-05 11:33:42
Green Cities Champions LeaguePublish date: 2009-04-04 10:19:53
Could Cameron have delivered the G20 deal?Publish date: 2009-04-03 10:11:59
Of Benn and BonoPublish date: 2009-04-02 08:21:16
Memo to Sarko - allez vite a LondresPublish date: 2009-04-01 08:46:17
Happy April Fool's DayPublish date: 2009-04-01 01:44:05
Eurostar, Le Monde and a thought for the G20 sherpasPublish date: 2009-03-31 09:17:22
Why Kevin Rudd made an impactPublish date: 2009-03-30 10:24:41
Pre-G20 hype matters less than post-G20 processPublish date: 2009-03-29 13:17:28
The Damned UnitedPublish date: 2009-03-28 10:37:04
A hobby horse, a plug and a bit of sportPublish date: 2009-03-27 10:22:23
Cloughie - he had a lot to be big-headed aboutPublish date: 2009-03-26 09:38:36
A sad sight of the old fearing the youngPublish date: 2009-03-25 17:03:07
Post-modern, post-structural, or bullshit?Publish date: 2009-03-25 08:18:02
Learning the right lessons from ObamaPublish date: 2009-03-24 08:53:15
Lazy Dave needs to keep an eye on lazy KenPublish date: 2009-03-23 11:16:14
Farewell favourite restaurant, hello hometownPublish date: 2009-03-22 08:18:09
Dave, Danny and have the Tories really changed?Publish date: 2009-03-21 08:55:13
Life beyond Dover ...Publish date: 2009-03-20 10:11:21
My friends in The New Statesman - Fergie, Fiona, Tony, Sarah, Kevin, 'Dacre,' and a great GB idea for the G20Publish date: 2009-03-18 10:38:22
Iraq, Iran, GB, Obama and diplomatic chessPublish date: 2009-03-17 10:07:13
The Age of StupidPublish date: 2009-03-16 08:27:13
Is all change good?Publish date: 2009-03-15 10:00:06
The pressure of being a post-modern sex godPublish date: 2009-03-14 10:00:55
Cameron still hasn't sealed the deal with businessPublish date: 2009-03-13 09:21:49
Stand up for social workersPublish date: 2009-03-12 08:31:17
Surely Malcolm Tucker could have told Armando Ianucci ... You can't spin a spinnerPublish date: 2009-03-11 10:58:25
Start of a new approach from Labour?Publish date: 2009-03-10 09:54:12
A peace process still strongPublish date: 2009-03-09 08:21:05
Day of destiny for the real footballer of the yearPublish date: 2009-03-08 09:21:06
Private advice to Peggy Mitchell - the leaked note in fullPublish date: 2009-03-07 08:17:21
Boris, the Tories and the tummy-tickling poodle pressPublish date: 2009-03-06 09:49:37
A day in the life of the self-obsessed TV reporterPublish date: 2009-03-05 07:55:47
GB - good speech, well deliveredPublish date: 2009-03-04 19:31:05
Notes on the environment, a role in EastEndersPublish date: 2009-03-04 10:58:56
She may be my 'wife' but it is time to rebut!Publish date: 2009-03-03 10:52:59
Some speeches matter more than othersPublish date: 2009-03-02 12:04:45
Mental health and the Carling Cup FinalPublish date: 2009-03-01 09:08:17
Inside the chocolate factoryPublish date: 2009-02-28 10:23:59
GB on the G20, JP on Jeremy KylePublish date: 2009-02-27 09:14:36
Charity and the credit crunch, please give generously!Publish date: 2009-02-26 08:55:12
Why oh why are the Tories not home and dry?Publish date: 2009-02-24 09:44:59
Me, Dermot and ten top songsPublish date: 2009-02-23 10:02:19
Names round-upPublish date: 2009-02-22 08:43:39
What's in a name?Publish date: 2009-02-21 09:58:14
Editing the New StatesmanPublish date: 2009-02-20 11:42:36
Salute Peter M’s proper use of the F wordPublish date: 2009-02-19 09:58:58
Labour's communications challenge for the NHSPublish date: 2009-02-18 10:34:39
In praise of KeighleyPublish date: 2009-02-17 14:33:57
A night at the EmiratesPublish date: 2009-02-17 00:06:51
When marriage is testedPublish date: 2009-02-16 13:36:35
Spare me the myths and the whiningPublish date: 2009-02-15 13:29:50
Dave Cameron - is that all there is?Publish date: 2009-02-14 11:11:55
Boris Johnson: F is for ...Publish date: 2009-02-13 07:55:10
The Cameron vacuumPublish date: 2009-02-12 14:48:33
Lincoln, Obama, Blair and the 24 hour media culturePublish date: 2009-02-11 10:28:47
Eighteen interviews later ...Publish date: 2009-02-10 19:24:45
Time to talk about Time to Change on NewsnightPublish date: 2009-02-09 22:47:49
So that’s what they mean by online community?Publish date: 2009-02-08 12:12:51
First blogPublish date: 2009-02-05 15:23:57
Brian Carpenter
2009-11-05 11:11:06Did someone just imply that Aids isn't a big problem? The comments get stranger by the day...
chris capps
2009-11-03 13:44:24Alistair you and your ilk just don't getit.As others have said the reason why noone cares is that no one believes a word that we are told by you kings of spin. I remember the coming of the ice age,aids was going to kill the entire nation,every year another deadly flu outbreak then of course the blatent lies WMD in Iraq,treaties on EU membership,etc the list is endless. As you and your good friends in the labour party seem to have missed, the population of the UK is more concerned about saving this great country at the moment rather than the world.
So fact as yet there is no clear scientific evidence.But to have a real economic debate on the reduction in use of carbon fuels would actually be more truthful and would gain more response. To keep on with this decietful mantra of climate/global warming instead of a truthful debate about future sustainability of the ever increasing population of the world and reduction of natural resource is completely misleading.
Michael
2009-11-03 10:57:42'When the government and the poeple disagree, it is time to change the people'. I don't worry about global warming - I've read recently that temparatures are falling and the polar bear population has increased. I visit Catalunya each year and have hotter summers there ten years agao than recently. We were led to believe Aids would be a bigger problem than it is and the millennium bug was a giant hoax. When I saw Pete Postlethwaite and his cronies tearing a strip off Ed Milliband at a screening for the Age of Stupid, my contempt for these people sunk even further. Many warmenists like to promote fear and hate (while enjoying fist class travel around the globe to publicise their cause) - it's a turn off and you shouldn't blame the rest of us for being sceptical.
Trevor Malcolm, Portsmouth Hampshire
2009-11-03 03:20:06"THE PUBLIC MIGHT BE THE PROBLEM ..." CLAIMS SPIN-DOCTOR
ALASTAIR CAMPBELL: THEN, YOU READ THE COMMENTS OF
HIS 'FACEBOOK FRIENDS' ONLINE, CONVINCED, " ...CRUMBS, YEAH, HE COULD BE RIGHT"
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Mr Alastair Campbell: Your Royal Highness, Mr President and most eligible England Cricket Captain, harshly overlooked by the Test selectors, sir ...
Just flipped from the "debate" still raging among your FaceBook Friends - My God, it's gone 2am, Tuesday morning, and the little devils are STILL at each other's throats, unbelievable
Tell us, please. Who ARE these "friends" of yours? New Labour supporters, perhaps? Possibly, some are. Others, I guess not. Tories, then, up to mischief - that wouldn't surprise me. And hardly the first time, either
Problem is, all the ranting and raving all the day long might be putting persecuted minorities off participation
I'm thinking in particular of the friends you have, who can actually spell, for example, who can parse any sentence grammatically
But these may also, for fear of reprisal, the torrential abuse they're likely to receive in return, should they so much as condescend to lift their World War One "pith-helmets" above the parapet, to mumble a few comments, however well-reasoned their argument
Whilst it's easier to gain entry to Fort Knox than it is to get me to accept or send out a FaceBook Friend request, and surely that approach too, has its DISadvantages and drawbacks, a Labour MP informed me that FaceBook holds to a 5,000 friends upper-limit capacity, leaving the gentleman with a backlog of over 400 friendship requests - worse still, some of these from his own constituents, who can't even find out what's going on, because he's reached FaceBook's presumably arbitrary policy of "5,000 Friends? That's ya limit, friend"
Even, bearing in mind, it's a Labour MP complaining, and therefore, he may wield enough clout to circumvent the rules that govern the rest of us, or even be "making them up" to compile a shock/horror press release. We shall see
Nevertheless, there might still be a claim for establishing a "Quality, as opposed to Quantity" policy on your own FaceBook
Pompous? Yes, of course, silly. Arrogant, too, if you like
But some of the comments and "debate" indulged in all day by friends on FaceBook suggest the need for a Moderator post may soon be in the offing, or so some of us will hope
The free-for-all bun-fights at present remind me of the old adage " ... wouldn't touch 'em with a ten foot barge-pole ..." and as I'm convinced the feeling is mutual, ie, the perpetrators bunch loathe what they regard as the servile, flattering parasite-sycophantics, Labour lot equally, perhaps, both clumps of us have much to gain from a tightening of the reins, as well as some "no abuse" rules
In which case, you are quite right, sir, to point out in your blog (see first paragraph, 2 November, opposite) at appropriate times, even the most golden rules warrant breaking. Quite. Then, what about turning towards some "friends" on FaceBook, who feel famed for repeatedly causing trouble there (my albeit inadequate experience suggests it could be the same names daily), why not tell those few to b*gger off elsewhere?
At least, that'd cleanse this bit of the planet - cyberspace - for starters
Trevor Malcolm
Portsmouth, Hampshire
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George Woodhouse
2009-11-02 21:08:54Bloody electorate - don't they know what is good for them. You politicos ought to consider why we dont believe a word you say, and why we think everything they do is based on their own self interest
Salmondnet
2009-11-02 18:47:07Yep. That's the trouble with democracy. People don't always agree with or have the same priorities as their political class. When they don't, the people must be overuled (for their own good, of course).
At the end of the second world war Hitler famously complained that the German people had failed him (you may think it was the other way round, I couldn't possibly comment). All leaders, however benign their policies, seem, secretly or openly, to share his this mind set.
Simon Gittins
2009-11-02 15:09:39Perhaps there would be less apathy and more concern if the government had handled things better.
Most believe it is just another way of introducing more stealth taxes and with this governments record the public have every right to have a high level of scepticism.
Em
2009-11-02 14:57:21I worry about water being a problem within my life time and I live five minutes away from Lake Ontario, one of the Great Lakes, you know, the ones that are bigger than France? With the scarcity of natural resources and denser populations, Europe will feel the pinch much sooner.
Not to come across as holier than thou but we've been legally obligated to recycle our organics for about ten years now. As I understand it, such measures are only at the discussion level in the UK. What are you guys waiting for?
Meanwhile, X Factor is everywhere on Twitter, Facebook and UK media outlets. Not that we're much better here, it's just that our entertainment obsessions are more diversified and not so Simon Cowell centric. Entertaining ourselves to death...
There is a psychological component to this as well. This is a huge, unphatomable problem. "An Inconvenient Truth" didn't make me feel inspired; it made me want to hide under a blanket. Of course, thanks to Gore my next car won't be a beamer but some kind of hybrid or electric ugly thing. There goes my cool factor. Thank you very much, Al.
Deborah Segalini
2009-11-02 14:46:23Barbara
go to the 10/10 website to find out how much you can do yourself. It would surprise you, I'm sure.
Deborah Segalini
2009-11-02 14:45:07The public are the problem on the classification of drugs, too, but Alan Johnson saw fit to sack the adviser who dared to, er, advise!
When are we going to start to lead again, rather than pander to the Daily Mail?
I'm close to resigning my membership, despite the commitments I have to help in the local elections next may.
Judith Haire
2009-11-02 14:31:27The electricity bill for each X Factor show must be huge.
Hazico
2009-11-02 14:24:59I agree the public are generally highly apathetic it seems.Perhaps huge numbers believe what they read in the Sun or Mail!!
Perhaps we have all become couch potatoes, and believe all we read in the media, whilst simultaneously tuning into a fantasy world of soap operas and reality TV.
How can these messages be communicated to the public in a clear and simple way?
There is also a lot of "counter" propoganda, which many bloggers on our local press have accepted as factual.
Mark 'Elvis' Wright
2009-11-02 12:45:25It's hard to say which is the greater threat to mankind...climate change or the Grimes twins.
audrey wilson
2009-11-02 12:25:59Aren't we forgetting that it's the governments in all countries of the western world who are responsible for climate change through industrialisation, greed and policy. Life really is quite simple. It's the powers that be that make it hard.
Tim
2009-11-02 12:22:57I do not care about global warming in the least. I am also one of those who is not absolutely sold on the science.
I have no off spring, I do not believe in a higher being and have absolutely no interest in what happens to the world when I die.
Perhaps those with children, who believe in love and karma and think they will be remembered for ever find that to be selfish. If they felt so strongly they would change their habits and leave those of us in a different position to get on with our lives.
Until those who actually have a vested interest in the gene pool continuing, actually get round to changing their habits, don't expect the rest of the world to change on their behalf.
Just because a politician says something is a problem, doesn't make it necessarily true.
powwownow_green
2009-11-02 12:08:15If the public was correctly represented yes. The survey says 15% worry about global warming, which does not necessarily mean that 85% do not care at all, which is the way one might take this, if one wanted a sensationalist angle for a blog, say... :-) But I concede that public lethargy is a problem, and this is the same the world over. If you are one of the people with the energy to push this important cause, credit to you (and your blog...)
Zelo Street
2009-11-02 12:07:00It doesn't help matters when you have a number of folks on the right and/or libertarian part of the blogosphere who either deny the existence of climate change, or refuse to acknowledge that any of it is man made.
One example is the eccentric Tory MP Douglas Carswell, pal of Europhobe and NHS denouncer Dan, Dan the Oratory Man. Doug gives the impression that the BBC is waging some kind of campaign of indoctrination on the subject. His pal Hanann appears well regarded by Young Dave.
But you'll be pleased to know that the Tories have sent word out into their part of the blogosphere that a Lisbon referendum is off. Tim Montgomerie at ConHome has obediently fallen into line, as has Iain Dale. Not that the Tories are control freaks. Oh no.
Barbara George
2009-11-02 11:48:05I care more about global warming than who wins X Factor. But I feel very limited in what I can do wheras watching X Factor I feel I can express a view and see almost immediately if I have had an effect. Maybe you are right about instant gratification
Colin Mendy
2009-11-02 11:46:02People don't really care about X Factor. They just think they do. It is a substitute for meaningful activity, and those who get involved in meaningful activity - like the charity you mention - are dismissed as dogooders.
Helen Sharples
2009-11-02 11:44:41But people ARE changing their habits, just too slowly. ANd people are frightened by the scale of it, so they think what difference does me not taking my car to the supermarket make when the Chinese are building a new power station every day? Maybe it is just too big for people to take in
catherine
2009-11-02 11:44:28Maybe next year Children in Need, Comic Relief etc need to focus on how climate change is already affecting the developing world. Get the personal stories into people's living rooms to compete with the x-factor.
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