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NASA maps California drought effects on Sierra trees. (Photo: climate.nasa.gov)

New Poll Cleverly Conflates Climate Change, Drought, Wildfires, Oil and Gas Industry

‘Support for climate change policies differs by party’

By Katy Grimes, August 1, 2022 2:37 pm

A new poll by the Public Policy Institute of California cleverly conflates climate change, drought, wildfires and the oil and gas industry through dextrous questions and weighted demographics.

Here’s the PPIC’s opening salvo:

“With California facing a severe drought and wildfire season, public awareness has risen of the impact of climate change as well as state policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A sharp increase in petroleum prices has led to discussions about expanding oil production and renewable energy sources.”

In one sentence, the PPIC asserts that because of the severe drought and current wildfires, climate change awareness is more prevalent. And just the placement of the second sentence, makes it appear to imply costly oil and gas prices are causing the state to turn to renewable energy.

Very clever.

The PPIC also asked about “increased rising sea levels,” and “heat waves that are more severe,” “droughts that are more severe,” and “wildfires that are more severe.”

Interestingly, they also asked about “government officials discussing other ways to deal with climate change:”

Q: Governor Newsom’s executive order banning the sale of all new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035? Do you favor or oppose this proposal?

48% favor
50% oppose
2% don’t know

Q: Governor Newsom’s plan that would ban the issuance of new hydraulic fracturing —or “fracking”—permits in California starting in 2024? Do you favor oppose this proposal?

59% favor
38% oppose
3% don’t know

However, looking at the survey methods and questions reveals even more.

The PPIC spoke with 1,648 California adult residents. Of those:

703 were registered Democrats

354 were registered Republicans

342 were No Party Preference

Of the 1,648 California adults questioned:

401 were in Los Angeles

306 were in the Central Valley

193 were in the Inland Empire

256 were in Orange County and San Diego

325 were in San Francisco Bay Area

Of the 1,648 California adults questioned:

792 were male

856 were female

Of the 1,648 California adults questioned:

138 were African American

191 were Asian American

409 were Latino

844 were white

Of the 1,648 California adults questioned:

338 make less than $40,000 annually

412 make between $40,000 and $79,999

836 make more than $80,000

Results: More Democrats, Los Angeles and San Francisco were dominant, the majority of California adults questioned were white, and a significantly higher number of those questioned make more than $80,000 annually.

Participants were asked:

  • In thinking about the California governor’s election in November, how important to you are the candidates’ positions on the environment in determining your vote?
  • Regardless of your choice in the 2022 election for US House of Representatives, which of these candidates would do a better job handling environmental issues in the U.S.: [rotate] the Republican candidate in your district or the Democratic candidate in your district?
  • Do you think climate change has contributed to California’s current drought or not? (why didn’t the PPIC ask “what do you think has contributed to California’s current drought?)
  • Do you think that climate change has contributed to California’s recent wildfires or not? (why didn’t the PPIC ask “what do you think has contributed to California’s recent wildfires?)
  • How much confidence do you have in the government in terms of its readiness to respond to wildfires in your part of California?
  • On another topic, which of the following statements reflects your view of when the effects of climate change will begin to happen?
  • Compared to other issues, would you say addressing global climate change is…

24% a top concern to me personally
57% one of several important concerns to me
19% not an important concern to me
– don’t know

  • How serious of a threat is climate change to the economy and quality of life for California’s future?

47% very serious
33% somewhat serious
11% not too serious
8% not at all serious
1% don’t know

They should have asked, “Do you still beat your wife?”

This poll feels as if they had a desired conclusion, and created the questions and demographics to draw that conclusion using a significantly higher number of polled Democrats, a significantly higher number of high income Californians, and a significantly higher number of polled whites.

You can access the PPIC poll here.

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19 thoughts on “New Poll Cleverly Conflates Climate Change, Drought, Wildfires, Oil and Gas Industry

  1. All they have is propaganda to prop up their evaporating dreams of world dominance, mass poverty and depopulation. Call out their lies and tell the truth. The truth is slow but always the winner in the long run.

  2. Wow, huge props to Katy Grimes for taking this completely biased PPIC poll apart, limb by limb. Yeah, no kidding, it kinda seems as though there was a desired outcome, doesn’t it? Not very subtle, these pollsters, are they? Unless you consider someone jamming climate change down your throat every waking hour to be subtle, that is. Just LOOK at the oversampling of people who can be counted on, every time, to nod their heads YES to this stuff. So I guess this poll doesn’t exactly represent the views of the people of the State of California on this subject, does it?
    In fact, the questions and tone of this poll sound so oddly similar to what we have always heard our governor, the mega-majority Dem legislators, and the radical environmentalists everlastingly proclaim and push on this subject that I wouldn’t be surprised to find out they special-ordered the poll themselves.

  3. Maybe the leftist elitists at the Public Policy Institute of California took this poll in wealthy communities like Marin County where there is no low income or Section 8 housing? With most Californians struggling to survive with skyrocketing inflation resulting from Democrat and the Biden regime’s failed economic policies, so called “climate change” is the least of their worries?

  4. The demographics described by Ms. Grimes shows clearly that the target sample in this very biased PPI survey are the urban/suburban upper-income whites – the Democrat donor class in California. It’s possible that this survey is meant to validate/reinforce support from their base donor class for the leftist Newsomian agenda; and to provide grist for their media helpers to use during the fall campaign. The survey also helps to measure how effective the leftist propaganda of “climate change” has been so far. I would expect to see the results of this survey used in various campaign ads in support of Democrat candidates.

    1. P.S. The alternate or concurrent technique would be to run multiple focus groups; which would be expensive to do.

  5. The PPIC has always been a Democrat propaganda outfit. Their polling methodology is always rigged to get the results that the Democrats want. That being said, it’s hilarious that even they couldn’t rig the numbers enough to cover up the fact that the overwhelming majority of people in CA think Gov. Hairdo’s scheme to ban gas powered cars in 10 years is nonsense.

  6. I’ve never seen a more gullible group of people than those in California. They have been gaslighted so badly, that if you told them they had to stop eating to prevent climate change, they would do it.

    1. I agree. Lived in northern California for eighty years.
      I guess that makes me “old”‘ . have seen so many changes. Living in conservative northern California I see more of the north part of the state. . There are a few of us still hanging on to values out here. Not so willing to.make changes that actually hurt the state. Most of my family have moved out of The state.
      Lately it seems that its a race to see how fast landlords can raise rents.
      Even seniors are facing rent raises and so are disabled .. Raises from $1200 /1400. Per month to $1500/1800. Per month. Just because they can. No change in taxes, ect.

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