NZ Herald misleads on climate change - again

A glance at the front page of this morning's NZ Herald drew my eyes to this headline:

Survey: NZ cooler on global warming

The headline implies that Kiwis are losing interest in the subject of climate change. The content of the story demonstrates this is very much not the case:

• 87% want action on climate "very soon" or "in coming years"
• 42% (down 21- want to lead the world in taking action and 39% (up 12 - want to keep up with the rest of the world)
  
• Sustainable Business Council chief executive Peter Neilson ... said other nations had "lapped" New Zealand when it came to policies, such as the Emissions Trading Scheme, that were being discussed here in 2007. That had made it easier to follow and harder to lead. "There's a lot more competition now."
• Sixty-five per cent believed the effects of global warming had already begun and 44 per cent believed it would threaten lifestyles within their lifetime.
• Asked if they agreed with a statement by the UN Secretary General that the case for human-driven  climate change was proven and the time for action was past, 65% agreed and 14% disagreed.   
  

Clearly, Kiwis are convinced that climate change is real and something needs to be done. The shift from "leading the world" to merely keeping up is most likely caused by people recognising the present government doesn't actually want to do anything at all about climate change. Meanwhile the United States now has leadership committed to action while New Zealand hasmoved from a leadership position to becoming a backwater of denial. People may simply be being realistic about what they may expect from a willfully ignorant government that has done worse than nothing and cut funding for programs that would have begun to address the problem of climate change. At this point, just keeping up would be a big step forward. 

The Herald's headline  is deliberately misrepresenting the findings of a survey showing people are concerned about climate change and want action to be taken. Given their representations of climate change almost always tend to the denialist side, the use of the word "deliberate" is appropriate. 

The real story here is just how far out of touch the present government is with the public on the issue of climate change. Good on the Herald for recognising this is a front page story. Boos and jeers for trying to make it look like something other than what it is.