tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-620033997567463526.post7521123566637299037..comments2023-04-02T01:24:09.580+11:00Comments on The Michael Duffy Files: Christopher Pearson, John Quiggin, Climate Change, Angels on a pin and science as theologyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-620033997567463526.post-13945468916054688322009-05-25T13:15:51.951+10:002009-05-25T13:15:51.951+10:00Another example of bias in "The Australian": Chris...Another example of bias in "The Australian": Christopher Pearson's "Chairman Manne's no to dissent" is arguably full of half truths at best. Quoting from the mid-April Rasmussen poll, he says "...belief in global warming primarily caused by human activity is falling fast. For example, a mid-April Rasmussen poll tells us that in the past 12 months the number of Americans who say they believe it has fallen from 47% to 34%. Given that Australians have historically been more temperametally inclined to a sceptical attitude, its likely that we'll be seeing an even greater swing locally." <br /><br />What Pearson failed to tell his readers is that: The poll was of 1000 "likely voters." In other words it was already significantly filtered before it was carried out. At the time of the poll, Americans were just coming out of one of the coldest winters since 1995 (ref http://www.climatelogic.com/system/files/forecasts/winter09/Reg110Dv00Elem0212022009pg.gif), hardly an auspicious time to poll them on global warming. Incidentally, although cold, this was still significantly above their mean winter temperature for the period 1895 to 2009. Australians, on the other hand, have had some very severe weather (floods in Queensland and unprecedented drought, high temperatures and bushfires in Victoria). As such, they may understandably be somewhat less sceptical of global warming. The Rasmussen poll also reported that "64% of voters now regard global warming as at least a somewhat serious problem, with 41% saying it is very serious." 58% of the respondents in the Rasmussen poll were of the opinion that "more nuclear power plants should be built in the United States." This begs the question that if they don't believe that coal fired power stations are significant in contributing to climate change, why go to nuclear power? In a separate American poll "Climate Change in the American Mind" of mid March 2009, researchers from Yale and George Mason Universities published results from a poll of more than 2164 Americans which indicated that "despite the economic crisis, over 90 percent of Americans said that the United States should act to reduce global warming, even if it has economic costs." The statistics quoted by Pearson from the Rasmussen poll are arguably worthless, and as a professional journalist, Christopher Pearson has clearly failed in his duty to supply objective and unbiased information to his readers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com