December 7, 2009
Dear Friend of Liberty,
Last week we sent a poll asking for your opinions on global warming. If you haven’t already taken it, you can still take the poll here.
The poll has proven to be popular. Below is the poll question, responses, and results after one week.
Which of the following statements best matches your view of global warming?
- 28% (1785 votes) This whole global warming thing is a hoax.
- 6% (347 votes) I don’t know whether global warming is real, but the government should limit carbon dioxide emissions just to be safe.
- 10% (639 votes) Global warming is real, it’s a threat, and the government should limit carbon dioxide emissions.
- 27% (1676 votes) Whether or not global warming is real, it doesn’t justify more taxes or regulations.
- 29% (1835 votes) Global warming is mostly natural and there’s not much we can do about it.
6,282 votes total
Several people sent comments about the poll. People asked why they couldn’t select multiple answers. One person suggested the questions were biased.
For those of you skeptical about our poll, I’ll be the first to admit it is an unscientific poll written by a biased author (me).
My natural inclination is to distrust politicians’ proposals that grow government. I also distrust the scientists who live off government grants and benefit from generating hysteria over global warming.
However, just because I distrust politicians and government funded scientists doesn’t mean I’m inclined to trust the business community. I certainly understand that big oil companies have an incentive to mislead the public about the impact their products may have on the environment.
This poll question was interesting to me because even though Libertarians generally agree that government should not gain new powers because of popular global warming worries, we don’t always have exactly the same reasons.
In any case, I think the vast majority of you agree with me that government should not start restricting people’s energy use, whether it’s "cap and trade" or some other scheme.
We will continue to advocate against these kinds of schemes for government growth. I’d like to ask you to help support us by making a donation. When you donate, let us know if we’re communicating the issues you want to hear about.
Sincerely,
Wes Benedict
Executive Director
Libertarian National Committee
P.S. If you have not yet become a member of the Libertarian Party and wish to do so, please click here and join the only political party dedicated to free markets and civil liberties. If you need to renew, please click here. If you would like to make a contribution separate from membership, please click here.
