( – promoted by buhdydharma )
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RawStory this morning:
More Americans believe in angels than humans’ role in global warming
More Americans believe in guardian angels than humans’ role in global warming, according to recent polls.
A Pew poll released late last month found that just 36 percent of Americans believe humans are responsible for accelerating global climate change, which scientists say mushroomed after the industrial revolution due to humans’ dependence on carbon-based fuels.
Carbon dioxide, which is produced by the combustion of oil, coal and other fuels, was ruled a “dangerous” threat to public health by the Environmental Protection Agency Monday. It increases the propensity of the earth’s atmosphere to retain heat.
But a near-consensus from scientists doesn’t have Americans convinced. The Pew poll found that while
57 percent believe that the earth’s climate is changing, just 36 percent believe that humans are responsible. 77 percent believed that global warming existed in Pew’s poll conducted in 2007.The 36 percent who believe in human-caused climate change is fewer than the number of Americans who apparently believe they’re protected by guardian angels, some 55 percent, according to a poll published in 2008.
“Half of all Americans believe they are protected by guardian angels, one-fifth say they’ve heard God speak to them, one-quarter say they have witnessed miraculous healings, 16 percent say they’ve received one and 8 percent say they pray in tongues, according to a survey” conducted by Baylor University published in September of 2008.
The Baylor survey was conducted in 2007 by telephone calls to 1,648 adults, who were asked more than 300 questions about their spiritual beliefs.
That’s not all. A blog at the website of Foreign Policy notes that more Americans believe in UFOs and ghosts than do anthropogenic (human-caused) global warming.
34 percent of Americans said they believed in UFOs and ghosts in a Halloween 2007 survey conducted by Ipsos for the Associated Press.
Just 39 percent of Americans said in a February poll that they believe in evolution.
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they’ll want me to believe 100,000 US troops are needed in Afghanistan to stop 100 terrists from taking over the country from Karzai’s illegitimate US puppet government. Too.
speaking of afghanistan… magical thinking catches up with a writer I’ve respected.
just that one chimp in your picture, Edge, or did they poll ALL the monkeys at the zoo? That would explain the results.
I am sooooo done with this shit.
By way of common dreams dot org…
White House wants suit against Yoo dismissed
and
Former Guantánamo Prosecutor Loses Job for Criticizing Military Commissions, by Andy Worthington
Are you kiddin’ me?
Can that really be true?
Only 55% believe in guardian angels? That is an outrage! Who do the other 45% think will watch over ’em? Al Gore?
And science doesn’t know a lot. Perhaps if those who are unswervingly hostile to “magical thinking” would concede that science has more questions than answers, they would be open to some fascinating possibilities.
For example, you dismiss “miraculous healing” and its’ witnesses dirisively, without ever considering that it might, by some method, mechanism, or agency as yet unknown to science, be true. Or occasionally true. Or true even only once. Tsk, tsk. Is that the hallmark of the inquiring mind?
Okay, flame away.
To be fair, the survey was conducted by Baylor University which, if I may recall, is a Southern Baptist institution. So we may want to ask, ya know, “Did you guys call anyone outside of Texas?” 🙂
having lived in two haunted houses, I, for one don’t “believe” in ghosts, I’ve actually had to deal with them.
The question isn’t a “belief” in ghosts, the question is what the hell ARE ghosts?
And what I’ve always found really interesting is that once people realize you’ve encountered ghosts, how many people want to tell you THEIR story about ghosts.
Still …. yeah, way too many people are way stoopid in this country.
others who use evidence as a basis for their world beliefs. I’m a scientist, and i try to get out into the community to bring science to the classroom. But i don’t go nearly enough. And not many of my colleagues do it. And those that do, don’t do it frequently enough.IF for no other reason than to inform the taxpayers as to what we are doing with the money they send to washington. But if science was part of the public’s day to day experience, well, some of these silly notions would fade away. so i apologize. I’ll try to do better.
Boggles my mind how a nation with such a history of education, inquisativeness, achievement and potential can have so many bloody idiots. I dont deny God, angles, miracles or any other spiritual possibilities but Ummm not at the expense of objective, reality based scientific facts. To deny our part in whats happening to our world is pure fuckin mumbo jumbo stupidity promulgated by gready self interested assholes who could give a rats ass because they and there progeny will be able to pay for there survival while we and ours all die. Whats worse are the morons who believe the lies at there own cost. Same folk who believe universal health care is communist while grampa croaks for lack of insurance.
The have 100 years of supressed technology they are just sitting on. That does put the current carbon scam way up on the evil side as far as scams go.
“All the power you would ever need, from a thing running in your basement forever.”
Richard Hoagland.
We had to name our guardian angels in second grade before our First Communion. I named mine “Faith” and have had several conversations with (her/him)through the years. I have been in foolish and dangerous spots – and good fortune saw me through – good fortune and my guardian angel.
A signifier maybe – but can you prove we don’t have guardian angels. You may say, are you kidding – read history. That’s where faith comes in. (faith with a small f). Obviously, people feel vulnerable and need the angels. It’s always been dangerous out here.
I also believe in science. So does Faith –
…from Freinds of the Earth on Copenhagen shennanigans:
You can sign the petition here.
and I’m serious. We’ll need them because we are fucking hopeless right now.
those people were patient in answering what must have been a 5-hour poll.
It’s comforting to believe in angels and demons, as it was originally intended. UFOs are their contemporary equivalent. You can believe in these things and nothing changes much.
To believe in Global Warming, though, leads you to a bleak place. The import of the evidence and suffering occurring now around the world makes you feel weak. You face a big paradigm shift. It requires a certain fortitude that many lack.