Climate Change Concern Growing: 66% of Canadians feel it's a very serious threat

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By Jim Harris on 11 September 2007 - 6:47am

Concern over Climate Change Growing: Increasing Awareness of the Seriousness of the Risk

Canadians overwhelmingly (70%) call Canada's pollution laws inadequate, according to a new poll released September 4.

Canadians overwhelmingly (66%) view climate changes as a very serious problem.

Industries that the Conservatives and Liberals have supported carte blanche Canadians overwhelmingly favour stricter regulation. These include oil and gas (62%) and automotive (58%).

The Liberals and Conservative governments happily give $1.4 billion a year in subsidies to oil and gas interests -- despite oil being at more than $70 a barrel. The tar sands development in Alberta is one of the most polluting heavy industries in Canada. Contaminating billions of gallons of fresh water. Why is our government subsidizing climate change? Why is our government subsidizing the pollution of fresh water?

With the automotive industry the conservatives, Liberals and NDP -- all supported giving a billion dollars -- between the federal and provincial government -- to Ford, GM and Chryrsler in Ontario -- and have not required any mandatory improvements in fuel efficiency.

The insights come from The Environmental Monitor -- research
conducted by McAllister Opinion research as part of GlobeScan. Download the pdf of the report below or you can go to http://www.mcallister-research.com/EMMediaReleaseSEPT_4_2007.pdf or http://199.202.238.2/news_archives/em07_pr/

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standards & qualities

Submitted by Daryl Vernon on 11 September 2007 - 11:26am.

Because the poll questions are little nuanced regarding complex matters, it is difficult to draw firm conclusions. That the poll reveals a political opening cannot be doubted, but some irregular results indicate prevalent vagueness and misconceptions making it a challenge for Greens to exploit that opening. For instance, the last graphed poll question seems to show dissociation in far too many minds of food & travel from "global warming". Canadians do not rely nearly enough on local food supply, and aviation might be found to be as serious a contributor to "global warming" as any. Being able to eat whatever one wants whenever one wants, and to fly wherever whenever, that these assumed "standard of living" aspects as currently pursued threatens "quality of life" is a very challenging political message to carry. A political "sales" focus on the positive, emphasizing available alternatives that address the assumptions about "standard of living" thus seems called for, but risks being not true to real concerns about "quality of life".