The message that CO2 causes fires, floods, storms, reef damage and refugees is wearing off
What a problem for the vested interests — it’s their main propaganda message.
It’s witchcraft:
When the witchdoctors ran out of long term trends and supporting evidence they started blaming every storm on CO2. It was a sign of desperation. In more respectable days they would say these were “weather” not climate trends. Storms, floods, droughts and fires are caused by many variables, none of which the climate modelers can predict even ten days in advance. Furthermore, huge 1 in 100 year events need a thousand years of data (at least) before we could pretend to have even a hint of statistical significance that they are not just natural events which have always happened and always will.
About 10% more Australians have woken up
New polling shows that about 1 in ten Australians that used to find this witchcraft convincing are smelling a rat and don’t believe it anymore. Back in 2015 when IPSOS asked the exact same climate change question 62% of Australians thought that climate change was already causing more droughts. Now after a vast drought, it’s only 52%. In 2015, 61% of Australians thought CO2 made bushfires worse, now it’s only 48%. Then, 57% thought climate change impacted on sea level rise, now it’s only 44%. Where 62% thought climate change made storms worse, now it’s only 48%. These are big changes in just 4 years.
It was a loaded question anyway:
In how many years, if at all, do you think climate change will cause the following?
In 2019, most Australians don’t think climate change is already causing more extreme fires, storms, floods, reef damage, sea level rise, extinction or more heat deaths. On pretty much every factor below, except droughts, less than half of respondents believe climate change is already causing it.
So Australians are increasingly over it, weary of ridiculous claims
Question: In how many years, if at all, do you think climate change will cause the following in Australia?
Belief is a fragile thing
Remember, every night on the ABC and every day in the SMH and The Age Australians are told that floods, fires, fish, crocodiles and everything else can be attributed to climate change. Imagine if they heard an alternate view — how fast would the faith crash? These numbers would plummet.
Belief in 2015:
Notice that IPSOS published more information back then. Now they don’t say how many people think it “won’t cause” or “don’t know”. Hiding something? IPSOS are supposed to be impartial, instead it looks like they will sell their reputation to the highest bidder.
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Revive that forgotten history!
The message for skeptics here is that pointing to past storms, floods, fires and droughts is working. Dig out those stories of extreme weather from Trove and historic archives. Keep reminding people that in Australia, 50 degree super hot days happened many times in the 1800s, the worst fires were in 1851, the worst heatwave was in 1896, terrible storms happened in 1967, 1945 and 1925 and 1974. The worst superstorms have happened every 200 years for last 5000. The worst storm in all history was probably in the UK in 1703. Storms trends are not worse. The worst droughts were 1000 years ago.
Can people from other countries compile a short list with links of your worst floods, fires, droughts, storms and heatwaves? That’s a resource every nation or region needs. I want to set up a reference list.
I’m also interested in quotes from scientists in the 1990s and 2000s who said sensible things about extreme weather and how much we understood the causes.