by John McClaughry
A week ago Citizens Climate Lobby “group leader” Rick Wackernagel published a piece in the Burlington Free Press trying to sell Vermonters on a carbon tax.
In it he repeated that “97 percent of active climate scientists agree that global warming is real, serious, and caused mainly by human activity.”
This number originated with a quickie survey of 10,257 earth scientists.. The two University of Illinois researchers excluded the solar and space scientists, cosmologists, physicists, meteorologists and astronomers who might have thought that the sun and planetary movements might have something to do with Earth’s climate. They reduced the initial list to 3,146 who responded to these two questions:
1. When compared with pre-1800s levels, do you think that mean global temperatures have generally risen, fallen, or remained relatively constant?
2. Do you think human activity is a significant contributing factor in changing mean global temperatures?
Ninety percent of the respondents answered “risen” to the first question, presumably assuming it referred to the pre-1850 Little Ice Age. Eighty two percent of the respondents answered “yes” to the second question.
Those percentages weren’t impressive enough, so the researchers reduced the sample until only 77 remained. Seventy five of them said “yes” to both questions, producing the desired “consensus” finding that “97% of “active climate researchers” believe that humans are a significant cause of global warming.”
This manufactured “consensus” is obviously dishonest, and it won’t be the last bit of dishonesty offered up by the carbon tax advocates.
– John McClaughry is president of the Ethan Allen Institute. www.ethanallen.org
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks, John. And then, of course, there’s the trivial matter of no warming at all for 18 years (and counting).
So what else is new? To obtain desired results of a survey, one keeps reducing the universe of respondents to the point when the number of respondents provide the “proper” answers. Is climate change taking place? Most likely, BUT is it man made OR it is a long term cyclical fenominon? There are many credible scientists who believe in the cycle theoty.
I believe there is climate change and Vermonters look forward to it. We used to call it “seasons,” and Mother Nature, but NOW we humans can control the natural processes of seasonal change that God controls? Anyone for more Kool-Aid?