Australian Public Miles Ahead Of Government On Climate - SMH

THIS year's Lowy Institute poll reveals Australian concern over global warming to be the big "sleeper" issue of national affairs, a problem that worries Australians more than Islamic fundamentalism.

Australian public convictions on climate change have crept up on our political leaders and have now overtaken them. The political party that can best respond will harness a powerful force. As the institute's executive director, Allan Gyngell, observes, "this has become mainstream; it's no longer just an issue for Greens and people dressed up in koala suits".

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Of the three available answers, 68 per cent of respondents chose the most emphatic and urgent option presented by the pollsters: "Global warming is a serious and pressing problem. We should begin taking steps now, even if this involves significant costs." This does not tell us if Australians are prepared to make personal sacrifices. It does not tell us if we would accept a carbon tax and, therefore, more expensive power generation. It does not tell us if, conversely, we will accept costs only if someone else pays them.

What the poll does tell us, as Gyngell says, is that "people have moved beyond the rhetorical concern and understand that addressing this will involve a cost". This is new information in the evolving Australian grasp of the issue. It puts public opinion ahead of Howard Government policy, which has only just conceded that the phenomenon is real and has yet to admit that the solution may involve any cost.

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http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/canberra-take-note-climate-change-is-what-terrifies-us/2006/10/02/1159641266546.html

this is good news really in a way better than hearing of some government official claiming to care about the issue and promising to put forward a bill or something. Because as I've said before this is what it is going to take, a popular movement not unlike the labor movements in the US in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. But on a global scale.

Second of all this statement "...a problem that worries Australians more than Islamic fundamentalism." Is emphatically and definitely SPOT ON it's so nice to see that others see that as well.