The old Californians were invaded by all of the fruits and nuts from all of the other states. WE are all huddling in the center of the state trying to overcome THEIR invasion.
Posted on 07/29/2007 5:22:43 PM PDT by DogByte6RER
Residents are 'green' hypocrites, poll finds
Californians want immediate governmental action, but are unwilling to make personal sacrifices
By Steve Geissinger
MEDIANEWS SACRAMENTO BUREAU
Contra Costa Times
SACRAMENTO -- Many Californians' alarmed talk about global warming amounts to a lot of hot air. Experts say residents are growing more opinionated on the issue -- and hypocritical.
A survey by the Public Policy Institute of California shows most residents think dirty air from cars is helping foster disasters such as drought and hurting their health through ailments such as asthma.
They want immediate action from government officials and presidential candidates with strong environmental protection stands. They support current attempts to lower greenhouse-gas emissions from autos.
"For the first time, a majority of Californians say global warming poses a very serious threat to the state's future economy and quality of life," said institute President Mark Baldassare.
The 54 percent who hold that view mark a 5-point increase since last July and a 15-point increase since July 2005.
"More Californians are associating global warming with a greater variety of environmental threats. It's not just air pollution. It's concern over increased droughts and flooding," Baldassare said.
But the poll released last week also found two-thirds of workers put up with pain at the gasoline pump so they can drive solo to jobs -- a fourth in SUVs.
Just 13 percent carpool and 7 percent use public transit.
"You have to wonder about the gap between behavior and opinions," said Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College.
The survey also indicated 70 percent of Californians are ready to buy more fuel-efficient cars, despite the extra cost.
But analysts say, in another case of saying one thing and doing another, it may be that few of them will ever actually pay to back up their comments.
"It's easy to tell a pollster you're willing to sacrifice for a cleaner environment," Pitney said. "But it's harder to do it."
Some of the building concern can be attributed to politicians' rhetoric, said David McCuan, a political science professor at Sonoma State University.
"But in reality, Californians' real challenges are local -- housing, education, roads and a fair wage from a steady job," McCuan said.
Experts also say people voice opinions contrary to their actions in hopes that the collective momentum will force the hard choices on them that they can't make by themselves.
"We buy gas guzzlers but vote for gas sipping," says columnist James Surowiecki in the current New Yorker magazine. "Our desires as individuals to protect ourselves in large cars and to outclass our neighbors encourage us to buy bigger and bigger vehicles with more and more horsepower."
"In calling for laws requiring better gas mileage in our cars, voters are really saying that they're unhappy with the collective result of the choices they make as buyers," he says. "Sometimes, they know, we need to save ourselves from ourselves."
Residents truly embracing the fight against global warming "need to connect the environmental dots," Pitney said.
"Over the long run, high gasoline prices are the most efficient way to encourage conservation," he said. "Yet I've never seen any Californians cheering when the pump price goes up."
Anyways...for the record I am NOT one of those hypocrites.
I own a Hummer H2 and I don't beleive any of the gloom and doom by tree hugging gurus like Al Gore. Al Gore and his minions merely use "global warming" fears to grab more government power.
World climate is in a constant state of flux. Temperatures rise and dip on cycles. After all, wasn't it "global warming" that thawed out the planet some 10,000 years ago to end the Ice Age? I don't think there were any SUV drivers back then.
So this poll finds that many Californian are hypocrites. Not much new here. They must have focused their poll sampling in Hollywood and San Francisco...
Of course they are. They're liberals.
"You have to wonder about the gap between behavior and opinions," said Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College.
Carpooling would be wonerful, if I had someone to car pool with. Public transit would be wonderful if we had some that was reliable. I have several times been called upon to bail out friends when the bus doesn't come. Turns out the union has a clause that drivers who are sick do not need to call in and tell anyone, so of course no bus runs if they take a day off.
My favorite both sides of the argument covered expression.
The old Californians were invaded by all of the fruits and nuts from all of the other states. WE are all huddling in the center of the state trying to overcome THEIR invasion.
And we are supposed to be surprised by the study??
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Or sometimes, they're just idiots.
The carpool statistics include children who are dropped off at school. I am not kidding you. In California they include driving your kids to school to inflate the carpool numbers.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
ahem...
but are you married?
LOL!!
/j/k
Aw come on now. There’s lots of untapped tax sources. Hunters, fishermen, fast food, carbonated soft drinks, energy taxes, snack chips, coffee, walmart, marijuana(legalized), bullets, guns, carbon taxes, gas guzzler taxes...and I’m not even trying.
Kalifornia liberals hypocrites??
Surely you jest.
This is why I’m in favor of Schwarzenegger’s plan to stop global warming. Let the Californians have what they want, and make them wish they had not.
That’s hilarious. I bet none of the Hollywood divas nor the Berkeley sandal-wearers want to ride the bus. They only want us to ride the bus.
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