Swedes Vote Climate Policy Biggest Waste of Tax Payer Money in 2019

A Little Levity, but then...

Environmental activist Greta Thunberg, of Sweden, addresses the Climate Action Summit in the United Nations General Assembly, at U.N. headquarters, Monday, Sept. 23, 2019.

(AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)AP Photo/Jason DeCrow

CHRIS TOMLINSON

The Swedish public has voted that climate change spending has been the biggest waste of taxpayer money in 2019, according to a poll by the Swedish Taxpayers’ Association.

The Taxpayers’ Association released the results of their annual wasteful spending poll earlier this week, declaring that climate policy had been the biggest waste of money, largely due to the fact that despite the spending, emissions in Sweden had actually slightly increased.

In 2014, the Swedish national government spent 5.2 billion Swedish krona (£419 million/$547 million), a number that has more than doubled to 12.6 billion krona (£1 billion/$1.3 billion) for the planned 2020 budget.

“The government has more than doubled the appropriations for climate policy, but despite this, emissions no longer decrease. In 2018, emissions even increased. That is why climate policy has been voted the worst waste of the year,” Johan Gustafsson, Waste Ombudsman at the Taxpayers’ Association, said.

Breitbart London

@BreitbartLondon

Sweden Looks to Ban Sale of New Petrol and Diesel Cars in Ten Years https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/12/22/sweden-looks-to-ban-sale-of-new-petrol-and-diesel-cars-in-ten-years/ …

The Swedish government, along with the Centre Party and the Liberals have announced they will be looking to ban the sale of new cars that use fossil fuels in the next ten years. 

“Too much tax money is wasted without benefit to those who pay. It is no less important that money has an effect when it is invested in something that is important — rather the opposite,” he added.

In second place in the poll was a project from the artists’ commission that saw over a million krona donated to a project focused on art for earthworms and fungi.

Mats Caldeborg and wife Katrin Zackrisson Caldeborg were behind the project and told newspaper Expressen: “Art for birds, bumblebees, beetles, worms, and fungi is a project that wants to turn upside down in our habitual way of seeing and understanding the world. Here, nature’s smaller inhabitants are not those depicted, but themselves, in their own right, recipients of the art.”

The wasteful spending poll results come as many Swedish municipal governments face financial hardship or even bankruptcy due to a lack of money to support recently arrived migrants who have largely remained out of the labour force.

An estimated 90 per cent of migrants who came to the country during the height of the 2015 migrant crisis and received permanent residency are unemployed.

Poll: 1 in 5 Russians Want To Leave Their Country - Permanently

By Nicholas Sakelaris

The survey indicated that U.S. sanctions against Russia may be having an impact on where citizens want to live. File Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI | License Photo

(UPI) -- A new survey Thursday showed that 20 percent of Russians want to leave their country permanently -- the highest number in more than a decade.

The survey added that more than twice that amount (44 percent) of citizens between the ages of 15 and 29 said they'd like to leave the country.

Pollster Gallup said the results may be troubling for the Kremlin because the country is already experiencing a population decline. The United Nations has said it expects Russia to lose 8 percent of its population by 2050. 

Gallup said President Vladimir Putin's job approval has had a strong effect on Russians' desire to migrate. 

Top destinations include countries in the European Union (40 percent) and North America (16 percent). They're most likely to name Germany and the United States if they name a specific destination.

Putin has made efforts to increase migration from other nations and encourage more births in Russia.

"Despite the government's efforts to encourage more births in Russia, even more births now will not solve the country's workforce shortfalls in the near future," Gallup said. "To that end, the country is starting to look outside its borders to shore up its declining population."

Another poll Thursday showed most Russians (62 percent) support the Kremlin's annexation of Crimea five years ago, but do not support an occupation of eastern Ukraine. The survey was conducted by Moscow's Levada Center and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

The poll also found 58 percent believe Moscow's foreign policies have made the economy worse, while 64 percent said it made living standards worse.

Maybe if all the oligarchs weren't taking all the money and spending it in Europe, things would be much better in Russia. But, certainly, things would be better if NATO and western powers would stop the Russia-hysteria and unethical sanctions.

Majority of Russians Oppose Decriminalization of Domestic Violence, Poll Shows

Russians change their minds as domestic violence increases

A police officer near a bus © Natalia Seliverstova / Sputnik

Over half of the Russian public believes that domestic violence should be treated as a criminal offence and only a quarter of Russians support the recent decriminalization of first-time offenders.

On Tuesday, Russian think tank Public Opinion Endowment released the results of the poll on attitudes to the decriminalization of domestic violence. The poll revealed that 55 percent of Russians think that the law should list domestic violence as a criminal offense.

Some 25 percent of poll participants said that they supported the recent decriminalization of domestic violence (it still remains a civil offense and is punishable by fines or civil arrest). A total of 21 percent of respondents could not answer the question directly.

In the same poll 79 percent of participants said that domestic violence cannot be justified and 11 percent said it was entirely dependent on the situation. Some 10 percent of respondents could not give an unambiguous answer to the question.

When researchers asked Russians how common they believed it was for families to face domestic violence, 42 percent said that domestic violence took place in the minority of Russian homes. Some 24 percent think that the majority of Russian families face domestic violence, at least from time to time, and 19 percent found the question too difficult to answer.

Russia decriminalized ‘first-time’ domestic violence in February 2017. The sponsors of the motion justified the move by explaining how a legal inconsistency had arisen several months earlier: starting in mid-2016, first-time attacks on people who were not family members or relatives were no longer treated under the criminal code, but the civil code. The situation with first-time attacks on family members remained unchanged – potentially leading to a situation where parents could, theoretically at least, assault their children with impunity, while complete strangers could not.

Still the decriminalization sparked staunch opposition in the mass media and on social networks, as well as concerned statements from abroad. Russian lawmakers had responded to the criticism by saying they were motivated by the opinions of their voters and public opinion polls, which at the time had shown that the majority of Russians support the idea.

A year after the changes came into force, the head of Russia’s Central Investigative Committee said that the number of crimes against women and children had increased and suggested that there may be a link.

Majority of Americans Fear Surveillance & ‘Deep State’ Power – Poll

© Damir Sagolj / Reuters

Over 70 percent of US citizens in the Republican and Democratic parties believe America is controlled by a “deep state” of unelected government officials, according to a new poll. They also fear state surveillance, it reveals.

Although most Americans interviewed are not familiar with the term ‘deep state’, when they heard the definition as a cadre of unelected government and military officials who secretly influence government policies, a majority expressed belief in its ‘probable existence’ according to the Monmouth University poll released Monday.

Additionally six in 10 of those polled think that these unelected government figures wield too much power when it comes to shaping federal policy.  

“We usually expect opinions on the operation of government to shift depending on which party is in charge. But there’s an ominous feeling by Democrats and Republicans alike that a ‘deep state’ of unelected operatives are pulling the levers of power,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.

Donald Trump has popularized the term ‘deep state’ over the course of his presidency. In January he blasted the ‘deep state’ Department of Justice for allegedly shielding a Hillary Clinton aide  who used a non-secure private email account while conducting government business. 

The poll also highlights widespread fears of state surveillance, with 80 percent of Americans believing that the US government currently spies on the activities of its citizens. 

“This is a worrisome finding. The strength of our government relies on public faith in protecting our freedoms, which is not particularly robust. And it’s not a Democratic or Republican issue. These concerns span the political spectrum,” Murray added.

In 2013 ex-CIA whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed the existence of a massive surveillance programme by US and UK authorities. The leaks exposed that the US National Security Agency (NSA) was spying on tens of millions of Americans by collecting their telephone and internet records.

The Monmouth University Poll was conducted by telephone from March 2 to 5, 2018, with 803 adults in the United States.

Unfortunately, I believe that 'Deep State' is not restricted to American civil servants and military. I believe it goes higher into the US government and extends into many western governments including NATO. It is 'Deep State' that is pulling the strings on the Russia hysteria. And, I suspect, Deep State may possibly be involved in chemical weapons attacks in false flag operations in Syria.

Number of Atheists in Russia Halves in 3 Years – Poll

© Sergey Pyatakov / Sputnik

The number of Russians who describe themselves as atheists has fallen from 26 to 13 percent in just three years, according to recent research. The share of those who back the Church’s involvement in state politics has increased slightly.

The poll, conducted by the Russian independent research center Levada in late June, showed that majority of Russians (62 percent) describe their attitude to atheists as “good and respectful,” with only 8 percent stating negative feelings towards this group. These figures remain virtually unchanged since 2014.

At the same time, the share of those who describe themselves as atheists fell sharply over this period – from 26 percent in 2014 to 13 percent today. Nine percent of participants in the poll said that they considered themselves “very religious” and 44 percent said they were “partly religious.”

That would leave 34% as 'religious'.

In the same poll, 28 percent of respondents said that they were confident that the Church must influence the decision-making process in the upper echelons of state power. This is up from 26 percent three years ago.

The share of those who oppose such actions remained unchanged at 36 percent, while 39 percent said that in their minds the influence of the Church on state politics was “exactly at the necessary level.”

When researchers asked the Russian public about their attitude to representatives of various popular religions and confessions, Orthodox Christianity came out as the most popular with the approval of 92 percent of respondents. Just under three-quarters (74 percent) said that they had positive feelings towards Catholics and 61 percent said they felt respect towards Protestants.

The share of those who reported positive feelings towards Muslims is now 59 percent – which is unchanged since 2013. Seventeen percent described their feelings towards Muslims as “controversial” and 13 percent as “fear and hostility.”

Just over half (55 percent) of Russians said they had a good attitude to Jewish people, with 17 reporting controversial feelings and 11 percent stating they had negative sentiments.

Analysts from the Levada Center noted in comments published on the group’s website that while the share of religious people in the country was on the increase, the strength of their faith was apparently getting weaker.

“The increase in the number of believers is not accompanied by sincere faith or understanding of importance of the religion for spiritual life,” the comments read.

“Indirectly, the weakness of Orthodox Christian norms can be confirmed by growing opposition to restrictions imposed during major fasts – such as the restrictions on entertainment, alcohol or sex. The number of people who say that they are not ready to bear this burden has increased up to two times over the past few years.”

The Russian Orthodox Church expects partial fasts on Wednesdays and Fridays, plus they have a plethora of other fasts that vary from forbidding a few things to not eating from Monday morning until Wednesday evening. While many of the fasts are aimed at monks and clergy, it seems devout Orthodox believers often try to follow them as well.

Fasting is a powerful tool in the church, but it seems to me that it should always be volunteered, not imposed. Fasting, while resenting the fast, is not only ineffective but is probably quite a negative experience. Jesus disciples shocked the religious establishment when they picked a few ears of corn to eat on the Sabbath. They had that freedom in Christ as do all who believe in Him. 

More Arabs View Israel Positively than Jews, Poll Reveals

Remarkable how Arabs within Israel are so much happier and more positive than their counterparts in Gaza and the West Bank. Perhaps the Jews are not the problem; perhaps Arab governments are the problem.

© Ammar Awad / Reuters

Arab citizens have a more positive outlook on Israel than its Jewish citizens do, according to a recent poll released as Israel celebrates its 69th Independence Day.

The survey, conducted by the nonpartisan think tank Israel Democracy Institute, in conjunction with Tel Aviv University, asked 600 Israelis over the telephone how they felt about life in their homeland. Perhaps surprisingly, in some ways Israeli Arab citizens were more optimistic about the state of the country than the majority Jewish population.

Sixty-six percent of Arabs rated the situation in Israel as “good” or “very good,” with only 12 percent giving it a “bad” or “very bad” score. This was higher than the Jewish respondents, only 43.9 percent of whom said it was either good or very good. And among Jews, the impression that Israeli leaders were doing a “good” or “very good” job of paying attention to what they want was a mere 2 percent, compared to 19 percent of Arabs. Arabs were also more confident about the economy, with 75 percent seeing it as good or very good compared to 62 percent of Jews.

But in other ways, Jews were still on firmer ground than Arabs. Eighty percent of respondents were proud to be Israeli overall, a figure that was 86 percent among Jews. Over half (51 percent) of Arabs also said they were proud to be Israeli, compared to only 40 percent who said they are not. A mere 13 percent of Jews were not proud of being Israelis.

Seventy-one percent described their personal situation as good or very good overall, and only 3 percent said it was “bad” or “very bad”. Here Jews again fared better than Arabs, with 75 percent rating their situation as good compared to 57 percent of Arabs.

One of the sharpest divides in the survey came in the question over whether US President Donald Trump was right to launch missile strikes on Syria. The overwhelming majority of Jewish respondents (79 percent) agreed with Trump’s decision, but 61 percent of Arabs felt this action was wrong. It should be noted that Israel has itself been conducting limited operations in Syria, with several airstrikes aimed at arms convoys belonging to its Lebanese foe Hezbollah, which supports President Bashar Assad in the ongoing civil war.

Israel’s population is around 75 percent Jewish, with the remaining 25 percent mainly consisting of Arabs. The majority of Arabs are Muslim, along with a number of Christians and Druze.

40% of Refugees in Austria put Religion Above Law – Study

Some interesting statistics, but nothing terribly surprising

© Wolfgang Rattay / Reuters

A new study from the Austrian Academy of Sciences shows that:

40 percent of refugees in Austria believe religious commandments take precedence over the nation’s laws, prompting the country’s foreign minister to push for a rigorous new integration package.

The survey, which was conducted on behalf of the country’s Department of Integration (Integrationsressort), found that:

90 percent of officially recognized Austrian refugees believe democracy is an ideal form of government. The study also found that 

80 percent believe in the equality of men and women, and 

83 percent have no problem with other religions, Austrian Die Presse reported this week. 

Yet, 

40 percent of the same people questioned for the study said that religion is a more reliable guide for behavior than secular state law, with 

80 percent supporting adherence to religious law in the public sphere. At the same time, only 

61 percent admitted to being religious, while 

45 percent don’t believe all religions are equal.

OK, 'a more reliable guide' does not exactly indicate that a person would choose Islam over state laws if it came to one or the other. Just trying to be fair here.

Some 900 Austrian refugees – 

43 percent Syrian, 37 percent Afghan, and 20 percent Iraqi – took part in the survey during the summer and autumn of 2016. Slightly more than half were 18 to 30 years old, and 80 percent were male.

About half of those surveyed thought the lifestyles of Western people are too liberal and that they have too much freedom. In addition, despite the majority acknowledging women and men as equals, nearly all wanted to see Muslim women covering up in Austria. Some 37 percent also said they wanted separate gym classes and swimming lessons for boys and girls in schools, and one in five even said women should not be allowed to work.

Finally, 

88 percent of the interviewees said they accept the living habits of the Austrians in general, but

38 percent admitted that they were too free-wheeling for them.

The obviously contradictory findings prompted Sebastian Kurz, who is both Austria’s Foreign Minister and Minister of Integration, to push for expanding integration courses for refugees at the second international integration conference – ‘Vienna Future Talks’. Though these courses have been vehemently criticized since being launched in the beginning of 2016, Kurz said the study shows they are still a necessity, as they have only partially fulfilled their purpose so far. The Austrian integration minister also visited one such course with an international delegation as part of the conference.

“We can see from this study that there is consent among refugees to abstract basic values. But that does not mean that these people have internalized these principles, neither that they are ready to live by them,” Kurz told the press on Monday.

The minister called the integration process a “major challenge,” while noting the importance of showing Austria’s newcomers the country’s basic values and helping them “clearly define boundaries” for their behavior.

“If there are violations against our laws or our basic values, we do not react with exaggerated tolerance, but show that the regulations in Austria must be strictly adhered to,” the minister stated, (obviously not Swedish) while mentioning a number of new proposals that he said would “hopefully soon become integration laws.” Among other measures, these include a ban on full-face veils, such as the burka, and a ban on Quran distribution projects, as well as a compulsory low-wage employment for refugees. These and other initiatives still have to be agreed to by Kurz’s coalition partners, the Social Democrats, who have been speaking out against the burka ban and €1-per-hour employment.

The integration courses, known in Austria as “orientation and value” courses, are 8-hour seminars where refugees learn about Austria’s behavioral standards and societal values. Around 15,000 asylum seekers have taken part in them since their establishment last year, according to statistics from the Austrian Ministry of the Interior. 

Woman attacked for reading Bible

Austria has been tightening its migrant policies since a number of incidents involving migrants. In the latest case, a woman in her 50s was stabbed by an Afghan migrant while she was reading the Bible in asylum accommodation. The attacker later told police that he had assaulted her because he had “personal problems.” 

In November of last year, the Austrian Interior Ministry admitted that there has been a steep jump in the number of crimes involving asylum seekers over the past few years. This has bolstered the nation’s anti-migrant sentiment, which led to a cap of 37,500 asylum claims being imposed last year. Austria took in 90,000 asylum seekers at the peak of Europe’s migration crisis in 2015.

Of course, a steep jump in the number of migrants would necessarily lead to a steep jump in the number of crimes involving migrants.

Growing Protestant Churches Believe a Fairly Literal Interpretation of the Bible

Study finds conservative theology mixed with innovative worship approach helps Protestant churches grow congregations

© Carlo Allegri / Reuters

The study, conducted over five years, surveyed 2,225 churchgoers in Ontario, Canada

Harriet Sherwood Religion correspondent, Guardian

Churches that are theologically conservative with beliefs based on a literal interpretation of the Bible grow faster than those with a liberal orientation, according to a five-year academic study.

“If we are talking solely about what belief system is more likely to lead to numerical growth among Protestant churches, the evidence suggests conservative Protestant theology is the clear winner,” said David Haskell, the Canadian study’s lead researcher.

The findings contradict earlier studies undertaken in the US and the UK, which attempted to discover the underlying causes of a steep decline in church attendance in recent decades but concluded that theology was not a significant factor.

The results of the new study are likely to fuel anxious debate among church members about the reasons for decline and what measures or approaches might stimulate growth. Those promoting evangelical styles of worship and strict adherence to what they see as biblical truths will be bolstered by the findings.

The authors of Theology Matters: Comparing the Traits of Growing and Declining Mainline Protestant Church Attendees and Clergy surveyed 2,225 churchgoers in Ontario, Canada, and conducted interviews with 29 clergy and 195 congregants. The paper is to be published in next month’s issue of the respected international journal, Review of Religious Research.

The researchers compared the beliefs and practices of congregations and clergy at mainline Protestant churches whose attendances were growing with declining churches. On all measures, the growing churches “held more firmly to the traditional beliefs of Christianity and were more diligent in things like prayer and Bible reading,” Haskell said.

Among the key findings are:

Only 50% of clergy from declining churches agreed it was “very important to encourage non-Christians to become Christians”, compared to 100% of clergy from growing churches.

71% of clergy from growing churches read the Bible daily compared with 19% from declining churches.

46% of people attending growing churches read the Bible once a week compared with 26% from declining churches.

93% of clergy and 83% of worshippers from growing churches agreed with the statement “Jesus rose from the dead with a real flesh-and-blood body leaving behind an empty tomb”. 

This compared with 67% of worshippers and 56% of clergy from declining churches.

100% of clergy and 90% of worshippers agreed that “God performs miracles in answer to prayers”, compared with 80% of worshippers and 44% of clergy from declining churches.

The study also found that about two-thirds of congregations at growing churches were under the age of 60, whereas two-thirds of congregations at declining churches were over 60. 

This second last bullet is disturbing. 80% of worshippers believe God performs miracles in answer to prayer compared to just 44% of the clergy in declining churches. This is disturbing on several levels such as, it would appear that clergy in such a position are destroying the faith of believers rather than building it up. It would also appear that far too many in the clergy do not have a real and vital relationship with Jesus Christ. Without such a relationship, you should never be in a position of teaching Christ to others. Bible teachers are held to a higher standard in judgement than others; this should put the fear of God into a Bible teacher.

Believers - if your pastor or minister does not believe Jesus is alive and answers prayer, even with miracles at times, then either get rid of that clergy or go find another church. Otherwise, your church is no more than a social club.

Services at growing churches featured contemporary worship with drums and guitars, while declining churches favoured traditional styles of worship with organ and choir.

According to Haskell, research on general social groups has shown that those with a consistent unified message and clear boundaries with people outside the group are attractive to outsiders.

“Conservative believers, relying on a fairly literal interpretation of scripture, are ‘sure’ that those who are not converted to Christianity will miss their chance for eternal life,” he said. “Because they are profoundly convinced of [the] life-saving, life-altering benefits that only their faith can provide, they are motivated by emotions of compassion and concern to recruit family, friends and acquaintances into their faith and into their church.

“This desire to reach others also makes conservative Protestants willing to implement innovative measures including changes to the style and content of their worship services.”

Theologically conservative believers were more unified in terms of priorities and what was right and wrong, he added. “That also makes them more confident and, to those on the outside looking in, confidence is persuasive all on its own. Confidence mixed with a message that’s uplifting, reassuring or basically positive is an attractive combination.”

Haskell said he expected the findings of the study, which was not commissioned by any group or organisation, to be controversial. “If you’re in a mainline church and that church is dying, and you’ve just heard that the theological position that you have is likely what’s killing it, you’re not going to be very happy about that,” he said. “Theological orientation cuts to the very core of the religious practitioner.”

In the UK, attendance at Church of England services dropped by half between 1980 and 2015. Statistics published last month showed that 960,000 adults and children – less than 1.5% of the population – went to church each week during the sample month of October 2015. The C of E has launched a programme of evangelism in an attempt to stem the decline.

1980-2015 is when the Church of England began slipping into more and more liberal theology.

The Pew Research Centre reported last year that that the congregations of Protestant churches in the US were decreasing by up to a million people a year. Canada’s four largest mainstream Protestant churches have seen their membership drop by half since the mid-1960s while the population has nearly doubled.

Main Religious Denominations in Canada

	19911		2001		20112
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Total Population	26,944,040		29,639,035		32,852,300
Christian	22,503,360	83	22,851,825	77	22,102,700	67.3
- Roman Catholic	12,203,625	45.2	12,793,125	43.2	12,728,900	38.7
- Total Protestant	9,427,675	34.9	8,654,845	29.2
- United Church of Canada	3,093,120	11.5	2,839,125	9.6	2,007,610	6.1
- Anglican	2,188,110	8.1	2,035,495	6.9	1,631,845	5.0
- Baptist	663,360	2.5	729,470	2.5	635,840	1.9
- Lutheran	636,205	2.4	606,590	2.0	478,185	1.5
- Protestant, not included elsewhere3	628,945	2.3	549,205	1.9
- Presbyterian	636,295	2.4	409,830	1.4	472,385	1.4

Christian Orthodox	387,395	1.4	495,245	1.7	550,690	1.7
- Christian, not included elsewhere4	353,040	1.3	780,450	2.6

As you can see, the UCC lost fully one-third of its congregants in just 20 years. Anglican, Lutheran, and Presbyterian churches lost about one-quarter of their congregants in the same period. These are the mainstream, liberal Protestant churches referred to above.

Eastern Orthodox churches, on the other hand are growing. The last category would include the evangelical churches other than Baptist, which have, apparently, more than doubled in just ten years.

That should tell you something loud and clear. It is not technique, confidence or music that draws people to evangelical churches, that may get them in the door, but it's the presence of the Holy Spirit that keeps them coming back. The Holy Spirit only shows up in churches where the truth is preached with faith and conviction.

Don't look to American Christians as examples; they are nothing like most Canadian evangelical Christians, although their poison is spreading northward and must be guarded against. 

Surprising Divide Over Human Role in Climate Change - Study

Study involving University of Montreal researchers being submitted to scientific journal

CBC News 

A woman walks past a map showing the elevation of the sea in the last 22 years during the World Climate Change Conference 2015 near Paris. A new study asked 5,000 Canadians their opinions on the cause of climate change. (Stephane Mahe/Reuters)

A study co-authored by University of Montreal researchers suggests that while 79 per cent of Canadians do not doubt the reality of climate change, 39 per cent don't believe it is caused by human activity.

The researchers, also from four other universities, including Yale, surveyed a total of more than 5,000 Canadians over the last five years.

"We asked participants if they believed the Earth was getting warmer partly or mostly due to human activities as an indication of climate change," said lead researcher Matto Mildenberger.

"The skepticism was a bit surprising," said Erick Lachapelle, who co-authored the study, which is being submitted to a scientific journal for publication and has not yet been peer reviewed.

"I think it is partly because Canadians are less knowledgeable than one might think on the topic."

The sheer arrogance of the educated mind! The skepticism that global warming is caused primarily by human activity may very well be because Canadians are more knowledgeable that one might think. Anyone who looks at the impartial data with an open mind cannot help but conclude that blaming humans for global warming is at best a farce and at worst a diabolical conspiracy.

The study did not ask what people felt was causing climate change, if they did not believe it was caused by humans.

Humans responsible for only 3-4% of CO2 in atmosphere

FYI, 96-97% of CO2 in the atmosphere comes from natural sources - the ground, vegetation, etc. Remarkably, this figure is not disputed by climate change enthusiasts. That leaves 3-4% caused by humans. So, the increase in CO2, and hence, global warming, is 96-97% naturally produced. How many hundreds of billions of dollars are we prepared to spend reduce man's input to 2.5% from 3.5%? And if we do spend stupid amounts of money on this fairy tale, will it make any difference whatsoever in global warming? I suspect that any difference it does make will not be measurable.

Researchers did not note whether the proportion of Canadians who thought climate change was caused by humans had changed over the five years of the study.

The results

44% of Canadians surveyed believe Earth is getting warmer mostly because of human activities.

61% believe Earth is getting warmer partly or mostly because of human activities.

66% support a cap and trade system.

49% believe taxes should be increased on carbon-based fuels. 


Deep divides in belief

Survey respondents seemed to be deeply divided on what is causing climate change, the study suggests.

For example, only 33 per cent of people living in the Fort-McMurray—Cold-Lake riding in Alberta believe climate change is partly or mostly caused by humans.

That compares to 78 per cent in the Quebec riding of Laurier-Sainte-Marie, where the rate is the highest in the country.

Click on the map to explore the results compiled by the researchers.


Yale study
The results found opinions vary depending on whether the study subjects were living in a city or a small town.

Lachapelle points to the differences in Edmonton and Calgary, compared to smaller Alberta communities.

"Urban dwellers are more progressive in general," he said.

Read, more susceptible to liberal bulls--t. If what you are 'progressing' toward is a lie, and a very expensive lie, how can that be a good thing?

"They are younger, better educated, and have better access to solutions like active transport or public transit, than people in small towns."

Does being younger and more educated make one smarter? One could argue that post secondary education is heavily laced with liberal biases that virtually brainwash the young, susceptible mind; that graduates emerge even less open-minded than their parents.

The survey asked four questions:

From what you've read and heard, is there solid evidence that the average temperature on Earth has been getting warmer over the past four decades?

Is the Earth getting warmer mostly because of human activity such as burning fossil fuels or mostly because of natural patterns in the Earth's environment? 

Do you strongly support, somewhat support, somewhat oppose or strongly oppose [a cap and trade] type of system for your province? 

Another way to lower greenhouse gas emissions is to increase taxes on carbon based fuels such as coal, oil, gasoline and natural gas. Do you strongly support, somewhat support, somewhat oppose or strongly oppose this type of system?

So, the real question is, do you trust the science behind global warming? Having worked in meteorology most of my life, I have a great deal of confidence in science; in scientists, however, not so much! 

Let's say you read a scientific study that concluded that Nutella was easily the most nutritious breakfast on the planet, would you believe it. You probably would. But if you knew that Nutella was mostly sugar, would you still believe it? Maybe, it is science after all. But if you then found out that the study that came to that conclusion was funded by Nutella through clandestine means, would you still believe it? 

Huge amounts of money are available to university researchers for the study of global warming. But if a study concludes that global warming is not man-made, it's almost impossible for that scientist to obtain more funding for research. So, they had better conclude that Nutella is the most nutritious breakfast ever, if they want to continue their research.

That is the sole reason why most of the science supports man-made global warming.

Methodology behind study

For the study, four telephone surveys over five years were conducted by firms Léger Marketing (2011, 2013 and 2014) and Elemental Data Collection (2015).

For each survey, there were between 1,014 and 1,502 respondents.

The answers to four questions in the study were compiled and integrated into a statistical model that took into account the socio-demographic and geographical characteristics of the interview subjects. The answers were then divided geographically by federal riding.

The study has a margin of error of six percentage points for provincial findings and seven percentage points for local findings, 19 times out of 20.

Researcher Retracts Landmark Same-Sex Marriage Study, Claims Co-author 'Fabricated' Data

Professor Donald P. Green (Courtesy of Donald Green; Reuters)

It was a study that made headlines — partly because it was so hard to believe. Last December, researchers revealed in the journal Science that one brief conversation with a gay rights canvasser could change someone's mind about same-sex marriage.

The highly publicized article stunned political scientists, but has now been retracted on the request of one of the study's co-authors, Columbia University professor Donald Green.

"I have strong reason to believe that the data, particularly the survey data, were fabricated," Green tells As It Happens host Carol Off. "The data were ostensibly from a very-large scale Internet panel survey… the total number of respondents was more than 10,000. But there's no evidence that any respondents were actually interviewed."

When the study "When contact changes minds: An experiment on transmission of support for gay equality" was published, the results made big news. Stories ran in The New York Times, The Washington Post and many other media outlets, including on the public radio program This American Life. Many researchers believed the methods used by the canvassers could be used to sway public opinion on other contentious issues.

The survey data was provided by Green's co-author, UCLA graduate student Michael J. LaCour. When another research team tried to replicate the study's findings, they couldn't. They published their own independent research paper, titled "Irregularities in LaCour (2014)."

Green continues: "When my colleague and UCLA professor Lynn Vavreck, who is Michael LaCour's dissertation advisor confronted him with the allegations… He was unable to produce any such raw data, nor was he able to render them from his hard drive, nor was the Qualtrics [database] representative able to verify that the data ever existed. So I can only conclude that they did not exist."

LaCour responded to the allegations on his personal website and on Twitter: "I'm gathering evidence and relevant information so I can provide a single comprehensive response. I will do so at my earliest opportunity."

"I asked [LaCour] yesterday whether he was prepared to admit that the data were fabricated and he said no," Green says, adding that the likelihood that LaCour could prove otherwise is "very, very" small.

In "Irregularities in LaCour (2014)," Green told the independent researchers that he confronted LaCour and that he "has confessed to falsely describing at least some of the details of the data collection."

Green says he doesn't know what might have motivated the alleged fabrication.

"I wonder whether if this is one of those instances where someone commits a little fraud and has to commit more fraud to cover up the first fraud and it grows and grows and grows."

He's not sure if it could have been connected to furthering same-sex equality. 

This reminds me of the study published, also in Science, in 1993 which claimed that genetic researcher Dean Hamer, had found markers for a gay gene. The story went as viral as a story could go in 1992, and almost immediately nearly all news agencies and departments began treating homosexuality as something you are born with.

The following year the study was mercilessly trashed by honest genetic researchers. The report was printed in Science, and some news agencies mentioned it, but with nothing near the excitement and energy of the bogus report. Nevertheless, the damage had been done, perhaps quite intentionally, and the media unequivocally became sympathetic with gays and lesbians.

Hamer, himself, will now tell you that there is no single gay gene, but that it probably has to do with a complex combination of genes. The Independent 1 Nov 1995, - "Dr Hamer does not himself believe in a gay gene despite trying more than any other scientist to prove the existence of a genetic - and therefore inherited - component to sexual orientation."

Hamer now says that environmental factors are not related to sexual orientation in spite of Alfred Kinsey's conclusions otherwise, and the Kinsey Institutes reproduction of those findings 30 years later. Environmental factors include relationships (distorted relationships) with one or more parent, or other influential people in the early years of a child.

Personally, I am convinced that there can be a spiritual element to homosexuality as well as environmental factors.

The episode also revealed the willingness (indeed, an enthusiasm) of the media to believe anything that runs counter to conservative Christianity, even respectable scientific journals.

"I've never been really clear if he had that kind of ideological or political agenda," he says. "It has not come through strongly in my conversations… it may be that he was just interested in demonstrating persuasive effect."

Green is expecting the study retraction to have a negative effect on his own reputation as an academic researcher.

"It's certainly going to be with me until I reach my grave," he says. "I think this will always be something that people will say about my research for good or ill. My hope is that something positive can come out of this, mainly that I can use this experience to think about, and perhaps help others think about, ways of preventing this sort of thing from happening again. What kinds of procedures can we put in place to prevent the huge waste of resources that occurred as a result of this fabrication?"

He also thinks that if LaCour is unable to produce data to support his research, that he will face severe career consequences.

"I expect that he will be subject to an academic investigation. He has not yet received his Ph.D; I think that it's unlikely that he will receive it. I think he will probably not, in the end, take the job that he was offered at Princeton. I'm guessing that as the process unfolds, he's likely to have that offer rescinded."